Broken Hart
by Kinetic Kat
Summary: There's a new kid at SkyHigh with a hidden past and a nonexistent power. No one knows why he has suddenly transferred to the hero school, no one knows why he refuses to interact with people, and no one knows that 'he' is actually a 'she! Flames are loved!
1. Prologue

HI YOU GUYS!

Thanks for taking a look at my story. Please read. Please review.

Please point out my mistakes.

And now to disclaim so I don't get sued.

I do not own SkyHigh. That goes to its respectful owners. And I do not own the term 'mundane' or 'mundie'. Cassandra Clare, the author of the Mortal Instruments trilogy, owns that.

But I do own my characters and my plot line. So no stealing. Or I swear I will so kill you.

Or throw pixelized furniture at your head.

Either one.

ENJOY!

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

Klicketa klacka klicketa klacka.

That's the sound a $500 pair of stiletto heels make when running frantically through New York. The girl attached to these stilettos? Amelia Hart. And why was she running? Well, to tell you the truth, she's running because she is pissed. Incredibly pissed. But the real question is; why is she so angry?

It's because her infuriating brother has done it again.

He has ruined her life.

Again.

"Argggh!" Amelia growled as she was brought to a screeching halt at a crosswalk. The sign across the street flashed a red hand and 'Don't Walk' at her, almost, as if it were taunting her. But everyone who knew Amelia would tell you, 'Taunting Amelia is not a smart move.' Which was demonstrated oh so perfectly as the sign flashed walk and Amelia promptly rushed across the street and smashed her fist into the picture of the little white man. The glass shattered and tinkled to the ground at her feet, along with the drops of blood that now dripped from the slits in her roughened gloves. She cursed and glanced up at the large clock hanging over Times Square.

1:37 AM it told her.

She grinned. He couldn't have gotten far. Not in his weakened state. And she knew just where he would be. She started off to another breakneck speed, weaving through the still crowded sidewalks as the people she passed stared at her in wonder. After all, it's not every day you see a girl in a floor length ball gown wandering through the city.

Or perhaps it was because she was sprinting wildly down the sidewalk.

'Nah,' she thought. 'It's the dress.'

But Amelia didn't think this staring was entirely fair. After all, half of these people were coming home from parties that were probably as extravagant as the one she had been previously enjoying. She scoffed aloud. 'Enjoying' was an understatement.

She had been ecstatic at the party. She had been euphoric, elated, jubilant and in total bliss. She sighed and took a sharp right into an adjacent alley, her eyes adjusting as the light darkened. She _had _been in total bliss until Aiden had to go and ruin it for her. It just kept replaying in her head, over and over.

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

"God, you look great," Jack whispered in Amelia's ear as she descended the grand staircase into the ballroom, taking his hand. She blushed and hooked her arm with his, giggling as she placed a kiss to his shoulder. His shoulder was the highest she could reach, even on her tiptoes. Even in three inch stiletto heels. Jack grinned and placed a kiss to the top of her head, his lips brushing against her hair. His gloved fingers twirled around an ivory streak in her hair, a startling white against the darkness of her ebony tresses.

"You ready to dance, my princess?" he asked, his green eyes twinkling down at her.

"Quite ready, my prince. Shall we waltz?" He laughed while he placed a hand against Amelia's back, another in her own gloved hand, and pulled her onto the dance floor.

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a breakthis is a break this is a break this is a break._

Amelia shrieked as she toppled to the ground, her exposed arms scraping hard against the pavement.

"Dammit," she mumbled, examining one of her shoes. The heel had snapped off. She had saved up weeks of money to get these. And now they were useless. She removed the other intact shoe and tossed the pair aside. She stood up, brushed herself off, and glanced down the alley. She could see it, the place her brother was, towering above the roofs of the other warehouses that surrounded her.

Amelia started off again, her energy somewhat renewed.

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a breakthis is a break this is a break this is a break._

"You're taller tonight but still not quite tall enough. Shortie," Jack said as he twirled Amelia around and around. She laughed and playfully punched his arm. Her black lace skirts whirled gracefully around her, rising briefly to show off her strappy shoes and slender ankles.

"Oh shut up. Maybe you're just too tall. Ever think about that?" she asked, curling up against him once again. He smirked and pulled her to a far off wall, leaning against it as they both rested momentarily.

"Aren't you hot in that?" Jack inquired, pointing to the black overcoat that covered her arms, shoulders, and even laced up the length of her neck. She was hot but she wasn't going to admit it.

"Not at all," she replied. He frowned and tugged her closer to him.

"I wish you would take it off anyway," he murmured into her ear. "I want to see your bare shoulders, your exposed neck. I want to touch your arms, your hands." He leaned near, his lips drawing closer to Amelia's.

And she pulled away.

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

She ran through a puddle and the filthy water splashed up to soak her dress. She didn't care. Her night was ruined already. Her life was ruined. She would burn this dress later, just so she wouldn't have to remember.

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

There was a violent explosion on the opposite side of the ballroom. The crowd screamed in sync. Amelia flinched and scooted over to Jack. He put his arms around her and pulled her close. There was a gaping hole in the wall, smoke pouring out of it. A burst of wind suddenly flowed through the opening, clearing the smoke. Four figures stood outlined in the haze. No other features were distinguishable except for the one that seemed to be leading the group. He was tall, slender, and the way he stood conveyed that he was of importance. The other dancing and partying couples had merely backed away now but Amelia was panicking, searching for an exit. She spotted one on the wall perpendicular to hers and began tugging Jack along beside her.

"Where are you going, love? We came here specifically to dance with _you_," a booming voice rang out, making Amelia come to a dead halt. Slowly, she turned to face the group who had now materialized completely. The tall, slender leader had black hair as dark as Amelia and he was built like a swimmer with strong legs and shoulders. He also had a handsome face with a square jaw, light brown eyes, and straight nose. The one slightly behind his right shoulder was also tall, but still shorter than the leader. Also unlike him, he was very stocky and was bald. Behind him stood a very skinny, very short boy. He had unruly blonde hair that stood up everywhere, as if he had just come out of gale force winds. The boy to the leader's left was short and chubby. His brown hair was plastered to his forehead and sweat rolled down his face. Amelia knew he was the cause of the explosion.

"Do you know them Ami?" Jack whispered into her ear, using his own special nickname for her. She always smiled when he used it but now…she did not.

"Yeah," she answered with a mournful sigh, "…yeah. I know them."

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

She was below a fire escape that was attached to the building she'd been searching for, trying to figure out if she could reach the ladder with a simple jump. Probably not. She backed up several yards and ran straight at the brick wall, leapt into the air at the last moment and placed her feet against the wall. She was able to climb up the side for a foot or so with sheer momentum until gravity halted her progress. Before it pulled her back down she pushed off the wall, into the air and clamped her hands right around the last rod of the ladder. She pulled it back down to Earth with her.

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

The leader began to stroll towards the couple, his smile turning into something menacing. Amelia backed up, pulling Jack back too. Being Jack, he stood his ground once he realized Amelia was attempting to flee.  
"Just stand behind me," he whispered, "I'll protect you." She glanced up at him, her hands curling around his arm.

"It's you that I'm scared for," she said, her voice clear. Jack stiffened and turned his gaze to the petite girl at his side. His green eyes no longer sparkled. They had become questioning and maybe even…frightened.

"But…why are you scared for me?" he asked, pulling away ever so slightly. She had injured his pride.

"Because she knows what I am capable of, little boy," declared the black haired leader. Jack and Amelia almost gave themselves whiplash the way they snapped their heads to face him. Amelia could sense time slowing as the man stopped a few paces away. She heard cracking knuckles and looked to her right. The bald stocky fellow had blocked their escape route. She could also hear something that resembled the rustling of thick cloth from behind her. That would be the blond with the disheveled hair. Also behind her, but slightly to the left, was the sound of heavy panting. That was chubby.

"What do you want with us?" Jack questioned the leader, his hands clenching up into fists. He had now realized that he and Amelia were the ones being targeted. This particular group had cornered them and only them. Something was definitely up. Amelia returned to his side but it now seemed to Jack as if she was trying to shield him, the way she curled around his front. She could have been scared herself but no, he was sure that the only fear she was currently feeling was for him.

"We heard our little Amelia was going to some fancy party with some mundane. We wanted to check out if he was acceptable or not. Which, being mundane, he obviously isn't," he told Jack, smirking. The rest of the group erupted into laughter, whooping at the joke. Amelia didn't think it was funny. At all. She could feel Jack tensing up in her arms. She looked up to his face and realized his jaw was locked. A vein could be seen throbbing in his neck. He was pissed.

"I'm not sure what kind of insult 'mundane' is but I can assure you I don't give a damn if you like me or not. I'm dating Amelia and you should probably get over it," Jack retaliated.

"And I'm not sure you know exactly who you're dating. Does he Amelia? Have you told him?"

The girl mumbled a curse and released the blond boy in her embrace. She turned, facing the handsome young man.

"Cut the crap, Aiden. Just leave okay? You've done enough," she hissed, her blue eyes aflame. He simply smiled at her and continued to talk.

"Has she ever told you what school she goes to? Has she ever mentioned her family? Has she ever discussed exactly what she is? Do you know just what she can do with her bare hands?" Aiden said, and began to circle the couple with his lengthy strides. Jack looked questioningly at Amelia and then to Aiden.

"Just…shut…UP!" Amelia shrieked, launching herself at the boy. A sudden gust of wind knocked her into a crouch at Aiden's feet. He smiled down at her and stepped over her, towards Jack. She grabbed Aiden's ankle and attempted to pull him to her level. He simply shook her off and wrapped an arm around Jack's shoulders in an almost friendly gesture.

"I'll indulge you, my dear mundie. I'll tell you all about her," Aiden said. Amelia stood up again and made a move towards the two. Before she could reach them, the tall burly one launched himself into her side, reducing her into another helpless pile. She didn't cry out. She never would.

"Careful, Heft. Don't break the poor girl," Aiden scolded the boy. Jack's gaze returned to Amelia. He shoved Aiden away and rushed to Amelia, kneeling to help her up.

"You shouldn't have done that, mundane. You really shouldn't have," Aiden growled, his eyes taking on a new light.

"Why the hell does he keep calling me that?" Jack whispered to himself. Amelia answered him anyway.

"It's the word The Four use when talking about people with no powers. Most of Hell uses it too. It mean's normal, boring, etc," she responded, dusting her dress off. She would have bruises.

"I know what it means, Ami, I just didn't….wait. The Four? Hell?"

"We're The Four."

Jack turned to look at Aiden again. Heft had come to stand beside him. The other two as well. "We're called The Four of Destruction," he continued, "We're the reigning students at the school we attend, Hell's Depths. It's a high school for 'special' teenagers. We have powers. Powers we use for evil. We're what you mundies would call villains." His eyes flashed to Amelia. "And you're little Ami is one of us," he added. Jack shook his head.

"You're lying," he simply stated.

"Show him, Heft," Aiden ordered. Heft came to stand in front of the group, reared his arm back, and punched a crater into the pristine, marbled floor. Jack continued to shake his head, albeit a bit quicker. "Not enough?" Aiden asked, "Alright then, Gage?" The blond came forward, raising his arms as a slight wind swirled around the group, increasing in intensity so much that Amelia could feel it beginning to lift her. Jack stepped back but still shook his head. Amelia realized it could now be shock causing him to do it. "No?" Aiden asked again, motioning towards the chubby boy who stepped forward to join the others. "This is my friend Roen, mundane, and he has a particularly interesting power. See the sweat rolling off his forehead? He can make it explode."

Jack stepped backwards again. Far back. Aiden smiled. Roen wiped his brow with the back of his hand. He flung it away from the group and they watched as a nearby wall and decorative display collapsed into a heap of debris. "And me, don't you want to know I can do?" Aiden inquired stepping away. He breathed in deeply, turning his head to the far windows where heavily patterned curtains hung. He suddenly exhaled and with his breath he also released a plume of fire, which enveloped the curtains in a cloud of smoke. He grinned contentedly, turning back to Jack. "And _that's _what I do."

Jack stuttered something incomprehensible and stumbled backwards. Amelia made a move to flee with him but Jack shot her look that included something that resembled fear and even disgust. She mentally flinched.

"Jack," she crooned to him, like he was a child, "I'm not like them…I'm really not."

"Au contraire, Jack! She is even worse than us! Don't you want to know what her power is?" Aiden said, chuckling. Amelia shot him the bird and stepped towards Jack again, holding out her hand. He stared at as if a sign hung from her wrist, declaring that if you 'TOUCH THIS, YOU MIGHT SPONTANEOSLY COMBUST.' Amelia knew that look. She had seen it so many times before. Because they're fears weren't unfounded.

"Get away from me you…you…you freaks!" Jack yelled. He barely had time to turn and run before Aiden snapped his fingers and Heft was football tackling the fleeing boy to the ground. Except for that when Heft tackles you, you leave an imprint of your body in the ground. The floor around them exploded and bits of marble dust floated up as Heft got back to his feet.

"Jack!" Amelia screamed and ran to him. He was motionless.

And pulse less.

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

Amelia clambered up the fire escape. She slipped a few times but always regained her footing. She was determined. Very determined. She reached the top floor and shoved hard against the window. It swung inward. She crawled through into the room carefully and quietly. She shut the window behind her and began to creep towards the doorway, her footsteps making no sound on the dusty concrete floor.

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

She wheeled on The Four her blue eyes narrowed and as cold as ice. "YOU KILLED HIM YOU SONS OF BITCHES. YOU KILLED HIM!" The boys looked at one another. Aiden merely shrugged.

"One less mundie in the world isn't so bad," he said. Amelia stiffened. There was some kind of change taking place inside. Her hands uncurled and hung loosely by her sides. Her shoulders straightened into a straight line. She lifted her head ever so slightly and stared straight at them, her eyes somehow glaring at each of them individually. And then she attacked them. First she tackled Heft who was taken by surprise and stumbled to the ground. She delivered punch after punch to his face, chest, and stomach. He was unconscious in seconds. Or perhaps dead. She didn't care. She leaped away from him and rushed in the general direction of Aiden but was promptly seized by Gage who tossed her into the air and suspended her there with his hurricane power. She twisted in the battering winds and stiffened her body like a board. Angling ever so slightly, she was able to cut through the wall of wind and crashed into Gage. He too, was knocked unconscious. Amelia shook herself and began towards Roen. He merely turned and ran.

She was facing Aiden now. And he was facing her.

"You killed him," she whispered.

He shrugged again.

She launched herself at him.

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

She walked calmly down the hall of the abandoned office building. There was little light and the air was thick with the musky scent of mold and rats. But she had this place memorized.

One doorway she passed. Two doorways. Three. Four.

Aiden would be behind door number five.

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

He sidestepped her and used her force to propel her to the ground.

"You don't want to fight me, Amelia," he murmured into her ear as he pinned her down.

"Yes. I do," she said through clenched teeth and supplied him with a fierce right hand uppercut. He stumbled backwards. Amelia yanked off her sweater for better mobility. He smirked at her.

"Smart girl. Freeing up your movement range. Just like I taught you," he said, springing towards her with fists flying. He caught her in the shoulder with an elbow, startling her, but she did not falter. She blocked the next one and began her own offense. She got him in the jaw again with another uppercut. She also dealt several well placed kicks to his chest and legs. He slammed a fist into her side. He was stronger. And bigger.

But she was faster. And it began to show while his energy drained and hers remained optimal. While she blocked his blows, he caught hers. He didn't have enough time to get in a hit otherwise.

However, even if she had speed, he still had knowledge. He knew her fighting style and he knew what kind of combos she favored. He managed to grab her ankle on one particular roundhouse and tossed her away from him, sending her sprawling across the floor. She sprang up and turned to face him.

He was gone.

She raced out of the building, catching a fading figure disappearing around a corner. Amelia knew where he where he would go.

She took off in pursuit.

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

Amelia kicked in the rotting door, the harsh sound reverberating into the dank room. Someone stood silhouetted in the window, the city lights magnifying his form and making it seem even more ominous.

"Aiden," she whispered.

"Amelia," he said, turning to look at her, "I should have known you'd follow me." He slowly stepped towards her. "So now that you've found me, what will you do?"

"I'm going to capture you and turn you into the police. For the murder of Jack Hamilton."

Aiden smiled at her, taking another step forward.

"You were always the little hero. You do know right that you'll never be one, don't you? Not with your power and not with your history." Amelia narrowed his eyes at him.

"I'm not trying to be a hero. I'm trying to do what's right. You just killed someone, Aiden!" She was crying now, her shoulders trembling ever so slightly. Aiden looked almost…sorry.

Almost.

"I'm a villain, Amelia. It's what I do. I destroy things. I hurt people. Sometimes they die. It's part of the job description."

She shrieked and stumbled towards him, her arm raised, ready to smash his face in but she was blinded by her tears and her footing was fumbling. Aiden stepped forward for the last time and caught hold of her gloved hand. With his free hand, he held her arm while he removed the black silk glove.

"Aiden…Aiden! What are you doing?!" Amelia tried to wrench herself away from him but he held her fast. He held her bare hand in his, interlacing the fingers, and pressing his cheek against the back of her little hands. He cupped his other hand, now free again, to his mouth and exhaled a small ball of fire into his palm. He chucked it to the far side of the room where it ignited a mountain of cardboard boxes. "Aiden! LET GO OF ME!"

Amelia squirmed and squirmed but Aiden still held her close to him. She could feel the stubble along his jaw. He hadn't shaved recently. That wasn't natural for him. Aiden was always so clean cut. He held her hand gingerly, like a child searching for his mother. His eyes began to close. Amelia had a fresh batch of tears already pouring down her cheeks. "Aiden…" she whispered.

"I've never touched you before Amelia. You're bare skin. It's soft. Like a baby," he smiled at her. He was crumpling now, collapsing to the ground, pulling Amelia down with him. She could smell smoke. So much smoke. But she was stuck now. "I love you Amelia. I'm sorry. I wish you could have been born a hero. You would have made a good hero."

"Aiden," she murmured, "Let go, Aiden…please." His grip on her tightened briefly, before it was released completely. She pulled her hand away from him. He seemed to have fallen asleep on the floor next to her. "Aiden…why did you do that Aiden?" She touched his cheek, this time of her own free will. "Aiden…?"

He didn't stir.

"Aiden! Please don't kid around like this. We have to go now Aiden…the walls are burning. Get up. GET UP!" she cried, hitting him in the shoulder. "GET UP GET UP GET UP!"

And still, he did not move.

"Aiden…" she whispered, curling her arms around him, "Aiden, Aiden…." She could feel the flames. So close to her now. So hot. But she would not leave him here. She lay down next to him, holding both of his hands in hers. They weren't warm. Something crackled above her. The ceiling was burning now.

It began collapsing. A chunk crumbled on top of Amelia but she didn't cry out. And she never would.

Never scream. Never would she scream.

She wasn't afraid.

She wasn't.

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

"Hello! Is anyone in here? Hello! Say something so we can hear you!"

"C'mon Frank, there ain't no one in here."

"But that homeless guy _swore _ he saw two people climbing up the side of this place."

"And I'm sure he also plays poker with aliens every Wednesday night. Old cook is probably crazy. Let's go."

Amelia groaned. Why were they talking so loud? Why wouldn't they just let her sleep? She tried to move, to try and get out of her bed so she could chase off these goons who interrupted her dreams. But she couldn't.

"What's going on?" she tried to say but found she no longer had a voice. Just a hoarse whisper. Her throat her so bad and her body. Was she sick? Did she have the flu?

"Did you hear that, Jason? I heard something over here!"

"It's probably just a rat!"

"Just get over here would you? Help me move this stuff. Shit, it's still burning right here."

Burning? What was burning?

And then it all came flooding back.

Amelia tried wiggling free from her prison. She couldn't see anything. Her eyes were on fire.

"Hell, it's a girl! Help me!"

"Damn, I'm radioing the EMT!"

"Can you hear me miss? Are you alright?"

"Do you think I'm fucking alright, assholes?" she replied but it came out as more of an "Arnnnggh."

"She alive, that's for sure. Where are the paramedics? I'm going to pick you up miss, okay? Try not to move too much. Oh Jesus. Look at these burns." Hands began to press beneath her, wrapping around her stomach to lift her. But as soon as they brushed against her back, she found that she did have a voice, and screamed bloody murder. Maybe she couldn't cry out of fear. But she was sure as hell going to cry out of pain. "I'm sorry honey, I'm so sorry. We'll get you fixed up right away."

She was lying somewhere now. Somewhere soft and padded. A gurney. She could see lights now. Blurs of skin colored objects. And voices, so many voices.

"I need the oxygen! She's got black lungs I'm sure."

"Call the hospital and get the burn team ready!"

"Where is that oxygen!?"

And then Amelia blacked out.

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

There were voices again, soft, murmuring.

Amelia opened her eyes. Her vision was still blurry but she could now make out people in blues and greens. Doctors.

"Where…where am I?" she whispered, so quietly.

"She's awake!"

"How are you feeling, dear?"

She blinked at the brunette woman next to her.

"Like crap," she answered. The woman laughed.

"Well you probably should after what you've been through. Is there anything you need? Do you hurt? We administering you painkillers but we could amp the dosage if it's not enough."

"The boy….where is the boy that was with me?" The woman looked at her colleagues that were hovering around the door. One of them shook his head.

"There wasn't anyone else in the building, honey," she answered.

"But he was there. He was there with me." Amelia was stricken. "He was." The doctor looked uncomfortable.

"They didn't find anyone else…if he was there he must have been burned beyond…recovery…" the woman murmured softly, taking hold of Amelia's thoroughly bandaged hand. "Who was he?" she asked.

"He…was my brother," Amelia whispered, closing her eyes, "And I killed him."

_This is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break this is a break._

And that's the end of the prologue.

I apologize for my sucky fight scenes. I could use some help with those.

I also apologize for those 'This is a break' lines. I was using xoxo's but didn't like those.

You see that little button down there?

The one that says review?

Well you should totally click it. I even accept anonymous reviews.

And if you don't I will so kill your character of preference at the end.

I can do that, you see.

So click it.

CLICK IT.

Come back now y'all hear?!

Love, Kat


	2. Chapter 1

Hello all! Welcome back to Broken Hart. I got two reviews in the first week which makes me incredibly happy and even more hits. Yaaaay!

Anyway, I'd like to give my first two reviewers cookies. Much obliged.

To the anonymous reviewer who started off with 'Really really really kewl.' Lol. Thank you for reading! I took your advice in this chapter by making the memories in all italics. I haven't yet figured out how to make a nicer line break as Fan fiction won't let me put my usual array of x's and o's. I'm attempting to separate them this time and I'll see how it goes! Hope you enjoy this installment. =D

To xxNewMoon29xx; Thanks for reading! I am in fact happy you didn't figure out what her power because I'm trying to keep it hidden for awhile yet! I will drop hints from time to time. And yes. Aiden is dead. For now at least. Mwu hur hur. Ahem. Anyway! Please enjoy my next chapter! =D

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o

The paper said the corner of Willow Avenue and Ashe Street.

Or maybe it was Wieeov Auenue and Ajle Slneel.

But that wouldn't make much sense would it?

A boy of sixteen was strolling lazily down the sidewalk of Ashe Street, a backpack thrown over one shoulder, and a makeshift map in one hand. He was _trying _to decipher the handwriting on said map. He sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his shaggy, night black hair. A white streak framed either side of his face and his ragged bangs brushed just the top of his dark lashes.

His blue eyes were boring holes into the sheet of paper.

"Why is her cursive so damn loopy?!" he howled in frustration, tossing the paper to the ground. "And why are all streets named after trees?" Ugh.

"Are you lost?" someone asked from above him. Wait. Above? He looked up to see Tinkerbell wrapped in an American flag. Wait again. That couldn't be right. On closer inspection, he realized it was in fact a human girl, not a fairy, clad entirely in green. And the patriotic mass? A boy that was embracing the fairy girl, who too had some kind of color scheme fetish, although his consisted of red, white and blue. And they were floating above his head.

What.

The.

Hell.

He had seen flying powers before but just not….like a daily advertised thing, you know? Especially not in broad daylight.

"Are you lost?" the girl asked again.

"Uh," was his reply.

"Oh dear. Will, put me down! We're obviously freaking him out," she said to the newly dubbed Will. He continued to hover a bit and then slowly returned to Earth. Tinkerbell skipped away from his arms and stuck out a hand towards the ebony haired boy. "Hey! I'm Layla Williams! This is Will Stonghold," she said motioning towards the boy who stood awkwardly behind her.

"I'm Jaden…Jaden Hart," he replied. He stuck out a gloved hand and made a brief wave, but he didn't shake hers.

"Why are you wearing gloves? It's only September!" she exclaimed, now realizing that this Jaden also had on a hooded sweatshirt, jeans and a pair of rugged, black Converse. She herself was in a forest green skirt, lime green baby tee and brown gladiator sandals. "Aren't you hot in that?" Jaden gave her a small smile, remembering another who used to always ask her that.

"No," he answered, "I'm always really cold." That was his official excuse anyway. She nodded enthusiastically.

"So are you looking for someplace in particular?" Will butted in, inclining his head to the disheveled map on the ground.

"Yeah, you reminded me of these kids who were lost on this exact same street," Layla chimed in, beginning to walk down the sidewalk in the direction Jaden had previously been heading. Jaden nodded, falling in step behind her while Will took his place on her right.

"Um. Yes, I guess. It's my bus stop…" The couple halted in front of him.

"What school you heading to?" they asked in unison.

"It's…well." Jaden paused. The boy _had _been flying before so he could only assume that they were…heroes…too. _'Right. A hero. That's what I'm called now.' _"It's…uh…called Sky High," he finally managed to mumble. The couple turned and beamed at him.

"That's what I thought," Layla said, "Cause this neighborhood is mostly powered families, you know? And it's not often we see normal people wandering around here." Jaden shook his head slowly.

_'You would _not _be telling me that if you knew who I was. Such a foolish girl, spilling her information like that. Too trusting. And I am DEFINITELY not a mundie.'_

They soon reached the intersection of Willow and Ashe and the small group stopped to wait. While they did, Jaden learned that Layla and Will had been dating for exactly 10 months, 14 days, 5 hours and 23 minutes. They had also been neighbors all their lives. Layla was telling Jaden a story about some bad guy they had stopped last year and something about babysitting, when the bus pulled up. It was a normal yellow bus. Jaden had been expecting something a little more…Hero like? But then again how would you herofy a bus? Give it a cape?

He snorted into his hand. Layla gave him a look as she boarded the bus ahead of Will. As Jaden climbed the small stairs, he realized the bus driver looked normal too. AND the students. Though they did seem to all have colors they were partial to. That boy had some fascination with fluorescents; this girl had a thing for pinks and purples. But other than that…they were pretty mundane. Mundane. _'REALLY should stop using that. Seriously though…I thought that heroes would be different. But they're the same as me. Well. Close anyways.' _Layla and Will took the last empty seat on the bus. Not paying much attention to where he was going, Jaden realized this too late. He didn't want to look stupid so he sat in the unoccupied space beside a boy in a black and red tee that was seated behind Layla and Will. His hair was on the long side, straggling around his shoulders. There were red streaks running through it but Jaden was pretty sure they weren't natural, unlike his own oddly colored hair. The boy gave him a withering look as he sat down but Jaden didn't care. He was preparing himself for many looks like that.

"Hey, Warren! This is Jaden Hart, he just moved into our neighborhood. He's a hero too!" Layla introduced the two enthusiastically, leaning over the back of the seat.

"I guessed as much, since he's on the Sky High bus and all," Warren mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. Layla stuck out her tongue at him and hurriedly seated herself properly again.

"Hey, Layla, who were those lost kids you were talking about? I don't remember meeting anyone," Will asked.

"I was talking about us our freshmen year, silly!" she said, giving him a peck on the cheek.

Ugh. Jaden briefly glanced at Warren and discovered he had flame tattoos crawling up his wrists. He flinched at the sight of fire, even in ink form. Warren seemed to notice this and glared down at him.

"You have a problem?" he growled. Jaden shot him an icy look and shifted uncomfortably. _'__Jerk,' _he thought,_ 'I could kick your-' _His mental threat was cut short as seatbelts shot out of the bus seat and strapped them tightly in.

"What the hell?" Jaden mumbled, tugging at the restraints. He glanced up to see that the bus was approaching what looked like an off ramp…that's construction wasn't even completed! Jaden suddenly stiffened, gripping the plastic upholstery. "WHAT. THE. HELL!" He closed his eyes as they launched off the highway and into the air. He waited for their imminent demise as a flaming pile beneath the overpass but soon realized, nothing was happening. He opened one eye, just to check, and saw that the bus had somehow sprouted wings and jet engines. They were now soaring towards the clouds.

"You scream like a girl," Warren murmured, smirking at the boy practically shaking next to him.

"At least I don't look like one. And I didn't scream," Jaden hissed, focusing on a speck in the distance that they were heading towards.

"I look like a girl? Have you looked in a mirror?" he shot back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Have you?" Jaden replied, grabbing his backpack that had previously been discarded in the aisle. The speck had gotten bigger and he could now recognize the resemblance of a school in it. _'Sky High, huh? Cute.'_

The bus made a NASA worthy landing in a parking lot in front of the school. As soon as he was free of the seatbelts, Jaden practically threw himself off the bus.

"Wait, Jaden! Walk with us!" Layla called after him. He pretended not to hear.

He began strolling towards the school's entrance when a speeding blur halted his progress. The blur circled around him a few times, creating a mini whirlwind, before coming to a stop in front of him. It was some chubby boy. A speedy chubby boy. He smirked at Jaden, standing proudly in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, Jaden saw something black, white and striped heading his way as well. Another boy. Though this one was skinny and gangly in all the places the other one wasn't. His power appeared to be stretchiness, guessing from the fact that he cart wheeled to his friend's side with 9 foot long limbs.

Ugh ugh ugh.

"Hello there, freshman. We couldn't help but to notice that we haven't seen you before and therefore must be a little late in your power development. We'd like to welcome you to Sky High. I'm Lash and this is my friend Speed," declared the striped one, "And we'd be happy to give you the mandatory tour of the school for ten dollars."

"Bull shit. Move out of my way," growled Jaden, shooting the pair what was becoming his signature icy glare. The two frowned at him.

"Oho. You have a mouth on you don't you? Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" said Lash, taking a step towards him. Jaden's fists curled and uncurled, a relaxing technique that had yet to succeed.

"I said to move out of my way," he repeated, glaring up at them. Lash grinned devilishly.

"And if I say no?" he asked, taking yet another step forward.

"And if I do this?" Jaden replied, smashing his fist into Lash's stomach. The boy doubled over, coughing. Speed glanced back and forth between the two wildly as if having a visual seizure could explain what had happened. While he was busy doing that, Jaden skirted around fatso and disappeared inside.

"Damn that little kid. He's going down," Lash grumbled through clenched teeth.

While Lash was seething, Jaden was wandering through the halls, dodging everyone he could. He received many a stare as he ducked and weaved, going out of his way not to come into contact with anyone. Finally he found what he was looking for, Principal Power's office. He knocked once, twice, and gently eased the door open.

"Hello?" he called softly. He squinted as he entered the room. It was incredibly bright. There was a glowing orb hovering over the desk in the room. "What's that?" he wondered aloud, sitting down on one of the large and extremely comfy chairs.

"That," called a disembodied voice, "Is the principal." The orb suddenly flitted around the ceiling excitedly, before settling in the swivel chair behind the desk. The light particles it was made up of began to shift and reformed themselves into an attractive, middle aged woman. An incredibly familiar, attractive, middle aged woman. "Hello," she said, smiling warmly, "You must be Amelia Hart." Jaden merely stared in astonishment.

"But…but you're Principal Sin!" Jaden accused. Principal Powers continued to smile.

"No, I am Genny Powers. Malicia Sin is my sister. My evil, twin sister. Cliché, isn't it?"

"I should've seen that coming," sighed Jaden, shaking her head. "You scared me there for a minute. I thought she had hunted me down."

"I can assure you, my sister will not find you under my watch. You can trust me Amelia."

"I'm calling myself Jaden now."

"Ah, yes of course. I remember you mentioning that you would be registering under a different name over the phone. But, pardon me if I offend, weren't you a girl also?" Jaden smiled secretively.

"About that. You know how I told you that as soon as I made it here, I would explain in detail my plans?"

"Yes I do."

"Well I'ma start explaining now. Hope you're comfortable. It's a long story." Principal Powers interlaced her fingers on her desk, giving Jaden her full attention.

"Tell me all about it."

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(AN: I am going to continue to refer to as Jaden/Amelia as a 'he' even though he is in fact female. This is mainly for my benefit to remind myself that the majority of the characters believe Jaden is a boy. If this confuses you, please tell me and I will correct it in later chapters.)

Principal Powers released Jaden in time for him to reach lunch. Yay. He found the cafeteria quickly enough, continuing to do his dodgy dance in the hallways. He got in line, grabbed a tray, and proceeded to pile it with the gooey mass they were serving for the day. It was green and stringy. So it could be spinach, seaweed, pine tree, or some aquatic life form that the lunch ladies had found in the toilet of the janitor's closet. All were possible. He stuffed a strawberry milk into his hoodie pocket and began scouting out a possible seat. AHA! Empty table, nine o clock. Window view. Total score.

Jaden made a beeline for it and slid into a seat that was bathed in sunlight. Ah. Nice and warm. He smiled and began tearing into his lunch. His happiness was short lived, however, as he felt the presence of people sliding into the seats surrounding him. Layla, Will, the boy that resembled a highlighter, Warren, a Pink Girl, and some kid who was partial to orange had taken spots around him.

"Hey, Jay! Mind if I call you Jay? How were your first two classes? What did you have?"

'_Damn hippies and their freakin' flower children.'_

"I don't know since I didn't go. And yes, I do mind. Thanks for showing me where the bus stop was this morning and all but that does NOT make us friends," Jaden growled, picked up his tray, and tossed it into a nearby trashcan. He then proceeded to stomp out of the cafeteria and escape into the library. Principal Powers had recommended coming here. It was hardly occupied and there were plenty of dark corners with chairs one could curl up in. Principal Powers seemed to know how hard it was going to be. How hard it already was. And she seemed to know how much Jaden would probably have to hide.

He found a dark corner with a large pillowy seat. He sat. He curled. And he cried.

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_"So you're disguising yourself as boy to protect the other students?" Principal Powers asked._

_ "Well yeah. It's to protect them from my power. My power requires skin to skin contact and if I never get close to anyone, it'll be that much harder for anyone to touch me."_

_ "But why do you have to be a boy to avoid people?"_

_ "Well because…I just thought it would be hard. What if I began to like some guy? I couldn't get close to them in this boy form. Well, unless they were gay but then I couldn't really be with them in the first place could I? It's like an extra precaution for me. No matter how much I like a guy I couldn't do anything about it."_

_ "And your power…Is it truly what you said?" _

_Jaden paused for a moment. His eyes took on a sad demeanor. _

_ "Yes," he answered, "As much as I hate it, it is my power."_

_ "So those white streaks in your hair. They're like the stories say. They're physical manifestations of your power?" _

_ "They're physical manifestations of what my power has _done._ I've tried dying them but it doesn't work. The color just slides off."_

_Principal Powers scrutinized Jaden. His power kills. Not exactly the power of a hero._

"_Amelia…"she began._

"_Jaden," he corrected_

"_Right. Jaden. I know you were having a hard time at my sister's school but I don't really believe that Sky High is the school for you. We specialize in training heroes how to use their powers. Hell's Depths specializes in training villains." Jaden glanced up at her, his stormy eyes staring calmly into hers._

"_Do you believe I'm evil, Principal Powers?" he asked softly._

"_Well, no, but-"_

"_That makes one of us. I don't want to be a villain. I don't really want to be a hero either. I just want to be able to control my power. I don't know how I'll do it but I'm sure Hell's Depths isn't going to help me achieve my goal."_

"_But, Jaden, your power is of the destructive variety. I just think Hell's Depths would be better equipped to help you learn how to handle it."_

"_Do you even know what they teach at that school? Do you even know what goes on there? Do you know the kinds of things they encourage you to do? They have classes called 'Raping and Pillaging 101', Principal Powers. You're sister? She gives us extra credit if we torture an animal. Hell's Depths lives up to its name. It is a true villain school. Still want me to return? Do you really want me and my power to be raised that way?"_

"_N-not at all. I…oh dear. I had no idea. It's just. I thought you would be more comfortable there. Others that have powers like yours. You wouldn't have to hide. You could have friends. Boyfriends."_

"_I didn't have friends. They were all afraid. I did have a boyfriend. And he was killed because of me. Going to Sky High would be a relief. No one is avoiding me now. I'm avoiding _them._ No one knows me or my power. I'm practically in heaven. Or pretty close," he said, adding the last sentence with a smile._

"_It'll be so hard though…"_

"_I'll be fine. Just let me transfer to this school."_

"_Well then. I guess I'll have to welcome you to Sky High Miss- I mean Mr. Hart. I hope you will enjoy it."_

"_Oh, I will," Jaden said, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "I will enjoy it greatly."_

"_Good. I'm glad to hear it. Now to get to your official registration forms…What should we list as your power? And background information?"_

"_Already got it covered."_

"_And Jaden?"_

"_Yes, ma'am?"_

"_You'll tell me the parts you're leaving out one day won't you?" Jaden stared at her in surprise. She was much more perceptive than she let on._

"_Yes, ma'am." _

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"Okay, so I was lying to myself about enjoying this. But it's for my own good," he whispered to himself in the shadows of the bookshelves. "Remember, Jaden, you're free of Principal Sin, you're free of the Four, you're free of Aiden…" That set him into another fresh round of tears. "Dammit. Get over it you stupid girl."

"Are you crying?" asked a vaguely familiar voice. _'Shit. It was male. Shit shit shit. It has to be Will. And he's going to tell Layla. And Layla will take me to some aromatic therapy that uses completely natural ingredients. Ugh ugh ugh. OH NO. He didn't hear what I said did he? How long could he have been there?' _Not even looking at the boy, Jaden hopped to his feet and ran. He skirted the bookshelves the computer cubicles and hightailed it out of the library. When he was sure Will had lost complete sight of him Jaden stopped and leaned against a set of blue lockers. Ugh ugh ugh. Jaden was suddenly glad of all the running around he had to do in New York. Great leg muscles. Hell yes.

"Jaden! There you are!" called Layla from down the hall. _'What is up with people finding me? Do I have a blinking sign hovering over me that says 'JADEN HERE! PLEASE ANNOY ME.' Dammit.'_ He pushed away from the lockers and turned to look at her. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, putting on the best scowl that he could. _'Be a little bitch to her. Push her away. Far away.'_

"What now?" he snarled. Layla stumbled to a halt a few feet away from him. Clearly, she was taken aback by this particular response.

"Hey, dude. She's just trying to be friends with you. And all you've been is a jerk," Will said, appearing behind Layla.

'_Crap. Please don't bring up the library thing,'_ Jaden thought, taking a step backward. Aloud, he said, "Whatever. I didn't ask for her friendship." He turned and sauntered away.

"Wait! I'm not done talking to you!" Will bellowed after him.

"No, stop, Will," Layla said. In a whisper she added, "Didn't he look like he'd been crying?"

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And that's half of Jaden/Amelia's first day of school. I'll have the next chapter up when I get some reviews. (HINT HINT)

Anyway. I hope you enjoyed/semi-liked/didn't completely despise it.

FOR ANY ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS;

Please, put a little name/nickname at the end of your review so I can shout out to you in the next chapter. =) Ex: (Sincerely, Mr. Bladdy blah.)

I like it when I can address reviewers personally.

SO REVIEW. TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG, WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, OR DON'T LIKE.

Please?

PLEAAAASE?

Brownies for those who review.

_.'_

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	3. Chapter 2

Hola people! Welcome to Broken Hart's second chapter! =D hope you've enjoyed the story so far and I hope you keep enjoying it! Now to shout out to the reviewers~!! I received four reviews in the first day so I decided to go ahead and give you my latest chapter.

Success with spaced x's and o's. I'm happy that I have more appealing breaks.

Coloring books; Nice name. And for being the first to review my second chapter here are some super special brownies! [tosses brownies at computer monitor.] Thanks for your review, hope you like this next installment. And I hope I updated soon enough for you. :D

Anonymous x2; Yes, brownies! I hope this quick chapter takes you off of your seat…bed? Pillow? Blanket? You know! Please enjoy the brownies and chapter. :D

Kada; I'm guessing you wished for me to update sooner, judging by all the subtle hints you dropped. Lol. I hope this chapter is sufficient enough! Tell me if you like it. (Hint hint) Have a brownie!

Moo Moo Cow the Writer; Thanks! You don't know how much that means to me, coming from a fellow writer. I'm glad you enjoy the villain school idea. I'm considering either writing a prequel to this story when I finish, or maybe just a whole new story so I can focus on Hell's Depths more. I like the evil twin cliché. Hehe. Enjoy the brownies and please review again!

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Whipping out his new class schedule, he scanned it until he reached his third period, gym. Jaden smirked and stuffed it back into his pocket. _'Here comes the fun part.'_ He followed a crowd of students filing through a set of double doors. He could be sure that they would lead where he needed to go. Principal Powers had mentioned the entire school having gym third period.

The group of people filed into an excessively large gymnasium. There was what appeared to be an obstacle course in one corner, a walled in enclosure in another, and for the other half there were a number of trap doors in the floor where Jaden assumed random obstacles might pop out of. All in all, it was pretty similar to Hell's Depths gym. Except they didn't have weapons of mass destruction skewed about. The students were dividing up by gender. Girls to the right, boys to the left. Jaden assumed this was for the locker rooms as they had yet to dress out for gym. Now _this _would be the hard part. Dressing out for gym required taking off your clothes. Now to do it and not reveal his true gender.

As soon as he had reached the interior of the locker room, Jaden scrambled off to the attached bathroom. He chose a stall, locked it, and proceeded to undress. Luckily, Principal Powers basically had Wal Mart in her office, and he was able to borrow a set of long sweatpants and matching hoodie with the school's logo on it. The sweatpants were baggy, which was great, but were extremely long, which was not. He rolled the waist band up a few times but with no success. They still covered his feet. _'You're just too short.'_ Jaden smiled and tucked them into the tops of his high tops. It would have to do. He checked the bandages wrapped around his chest. He unwrapped them quickly and tightened them again. Thankfully, he wasn't greatly endowed in the chest area and he could be flattened out quite easily. And this way, he could say they were for medical reasons in case anyone did see him. Which was basically the truth anyway. His fingers briefly brushed against the raised skin on his back. It still hurt. Sighing he hid his hands in the gloves again. He stuffed his clothes into his backpack, shoved it in a locker, and strode out into the gym.

Students were gathering on the far side, seating themselves in the bleachers. Jaden took a seat in the back far away from anyone else. He put his hood up to shadow his face, sat back, and wished something interesting would happen.

"Jaden! Hey!" Layla yelled, clambering up the bleachers.

'_Be careful what you wish for.'_ Jaden glanced up as she seated herself beside him but said nothing.

"You know, this whole silent, mysterious thing has got to stop. How're you going to make friends if you keep avoiding us all?" Layla said, crossing her arms and pouting. Jaden suppressed a giggle. She looked like a little kid complaining about not getting her way.

"Maybe I don't want any friends," he mumbled, placing his own arms across his chest defensively. He could see Will coming up the bleachers now too, followed by Warren, glow worm guy, pink girl, and orange kid again. The same crew from the lunch table he had abandoned earlier.

"Stop being stupid. Everyone wants friends," she said, scooting closer to Will as he sat down next to her. Glow Guy and Pink Girl sat to his right. Warren and kid sat directly in front of him. _'Well hell. They freakin' blocked me in.'_ "These are our friends. Wouldn't you like to meet them?" she asked, motioning towards the group that now encircled them.

"Um. No," he answered simply, tugging his hood farther over his eyes.

"Well aren't you the polite one," Pink Girl said, leaning forward to scrutinize Jaden around Glow Guy.

"That's Magenta!" Layla announced, pointing at Pink Girl.

"I'm not blind, dude. I can see what color she is wearing," Jaden scoffed. The group erupted into laughter. Jaden jumped in his seat at the sudden burst of noise.

"No, silly! That's her _name_!" Layla said, taking breaths in between giggles. Jaden blushed with embarrassment.

"Well I didn't _know _that. Sheesh."

"Well now you do! If you don't run away, maybe I can make it to introducing the rest of them." Jaden shrugged and leaned back again, rolling his eyes. "The one in the yellow is Zach-"

"You mean he isn't Highlighter?" murmured Jaden, attempting to be condescending. But apparently, it was funny as the group was reduced to chuckling and giggles once again. "I'm trying to be rude but you guys keep screwing up my intended doucheness." More laughter. "Jesus, I give up."

"You know, you're pretty cool once one gets to know you," Will said, smiling at Jaden around Layla. "I thought you were an ass when I first met you."

"I am an ass. But as I said before, you guys keep screwing it up." Giggle giggle. "Dammit! I'm not trying to be funny! Stop laughing." He he he. Ha ha ha. Jaden sighed and scowled. He didn't like this. At all.

Eh.

He was actually enjoying it deep down. But he wouldn't be caught dead admitting it. However, he did notice that one member of the group didn't seem to be enjoying the chuckle fest. Warren. In fact, he seemed to be deep in thought about something.

"Jaden Hart!" someone called. Jaden sat up, scanning the crowd.

"It's Coach Boomer calling you. Down there by the obstacle course," Layla said, pointing in the direction of a man with a baseball cap. And a gut. Ugh. Jaden always disliked coaches that preached sports were their life. Yet they had beer bellies. He stood up and began leaping down the bleachers, skipping over two at a time. He skidded to halt in front of Coach Boomer five seconds later.

"Sir?" he asked with a yawn.

"Principal Powers told me all about you. She says you're a transfer?" he inquired, cocking a brow.

"Yes. I am," Jaden answered, bending a leg and crossing his arms over his chest. Coach Boomer seemed to be the nosy type. Jaden _hated _the nosy types.

"Transfer from where exactly? You a late bloomer or something?" he asked, his mouth holding back a laugh. _'Oh please. You're not funny.'_

"A transfer from Hell. Is that all you needed to know Coach?" Jaden replied with a smirk, his eyebrow arched up ever so slightly.

"Don't be smart with me, boy. I decide whether you'll be a hero or not," Coach said, leaning over Jaden menacingly. Jaden was used to being towered over. He was only 5'2" after all. Coach wasn't intimidating him in the slightest.

"I wasn't trying to be smart, sir. I really am from Hell. And I don't care whether I'm a hero or not."

"I said that's up for me to decide. Now, what's your power, boy? And no smart ass answers."

"I have superior combatant skills," Jaden said with a sigh. Coach Boomer scrutinized him for a moment before erupting into a rafter rattling chuckle. Except his laugh _actually _rattled the rafters. Jaden could feel hundreds of eyes focus on them now. He sighed again. _'This is tedious.'_

"Superior combatant skills, eh? Well, we'll see about that. Since you're a transfer, you missed your chance to get tested with the freshmen, so I'll just have to test you here." Jaden's bored gaze snapped back to the Coach quick on that comment.  
"Test me? Here? Now? Why?" Jaden hissed. Coach Boomer had his complete attention now.

"Why not? Now follow me," he said, strolling to the middle of the gym where a circular platform was rising out of the floor. Jaden followed, his feet dragging. _'Well, this is craptastic. Powers never mentioned I'd have to be tested. If I don't pass, do I get kicked out of school?'_

Jaden trailed after Coach Boomer up the small set of stairs reluctantly. The whole school was following the pair with their eyes. Where there had been incessant chattering, there was now silence. Everyone was interested in what the new kid had to show.

"Okay, Jaden Hart! Let's see what you got!" Jaden flinched at the sudden increase of decibels being released from Boomer's mouth. _'He wanted everyone to hear, didn't he? Ass.' _ The Coach whipped out a remote from his windbreaker pocket and stepped away from Jaden. "Ninjas!" he bellowed, pressing a button on the device, and leaping entirely off the platform. Immediately, 10 figures clad in black descended from the rafters. Jaden yelped in surprise and jumped back.

"He has a fucking button for ninjas?!" Jaden shouted, doing a one handed cartwheel off the stage as the ninjas encircled him. A ripple of laughter ran through the crowd of students. One ninja broke away from the group, doing a complicated set of flips to reach Jaden. Jaden dropped to the floor as the man swung at his face. Jaden shot out a leg, knocked him to his back, and leaped over him, using his face as a launching pad. A pair broke away this time, each equipped with a set of numchucks (sp?). They were swinging them around wildly. Jaden watched the two for a second, calculated the pattern they used, before throwing out both of his hands to grab hold of the numchucks. He tore them away from the ninjas, slammed either fist into both their faces and waited for the next challenge.

Three leaped at him this time. Their weapons of choice? Swords. _'Psh. This is nothing compared to The Four.'_ They too brandished them around violently. Did they have no sense of technique? Jaden rushed them, ducking under the first sword to pummel its owner in the abdomen. He swerved around the second and raised his arm to clothesline the ninja. The third? He merely placed a well aimed kick to the man's face. Six down. Four to go. Another wave of three rushed towards Jaden, one had an array of sharp objects, one had another sword, and the third had what appeared to be…a stick? Seriously? The first tossed his various ninja stars and shuriken at Jaden all at once. Jaden gasped and leapt out of the way, albeit gracefully. He back flipped into a squatting position, his teeth clenched. _'This is seriously wasting my life. I still can't get over the fact that he has a ninja button. A NINJA BUTTON.' _Jaden cursed and dealt the shuriken ninja a fierce uppercut to the jaw. Seven down. Solo sword guy dashed forward, wielding his weapon much more gracefully than his predecessors. He sliced upwards, attempting to catch Jaden in the stomach. Jaden narrowly dodged it and tried knocking the sword away with a hard crack on the swordsman's hand. He didn't drop it. The ninja sliced upwards again and Jaden saw his opening. While the sword went up, Jaden went down and tackled the man to the ground. The force caught the man by surprise and his weapon went skittering to the floor. Jaden straddled the man's chest and cupping both hands, clapped them firmly over the ninja's ears. The man howled and rolled over. Then came the stick guy.

"Seriously, dude? A stick?" The man seemed to sneer at Jaden beneath his face mask. Jaden took the offensive and launched himself at the ninja first. The man whipped the stick around, catching Jaden firmly on the wrist with it. "Ow. That hurt you jerk!" Jaden roared, attaching himself to the man's arm. "You really shouldn't have done that," he murmured, head butting the ninja with all the brutality he could muster. As the man collapsed to the ground, he wiped his hands on his sweatpants. "Gross. Now I'm all sweaty," he glanced to the fallen ninjas, doing a quick headcount. "Seven, eight, nine….wait. Weren't there ten before?"

"Jaden! Above you!" someone called, most likely Layla, from the stands. Jaden gazed upward just in time to dive out of the way the dropping ninja. He cart wheeled into a back flip, settling into a defensive crouch. The ninja had landed on his feet, his arms crossed over his chest. He raised an arm and beckoned Jaden with two fingers. Jaden stood raising a single eyebrow cockily.

"I'm sorry. I believe the meal is supposed to be delivered to the customer?" He lifted his own arm but instead of beckoning the man, he merely raised his middle finger. The ninja emitted what sounded like a growl and sprinted forward. Jaden smirked lowering himself to the ground ever so slightly. While the ninja dove forward, Jaden dove under, sliding between the ninja's legs like a pro baseball player going for a home run. He sprung to his feet, placed a Chuck Taylor against the man's still crouching butt and kicked him to the ground. The ninja cursed and swung out his arm to snatch at one of Jaden's ankles. He went down.

"You're a little better at this than your buddies, huh?" Jaden mumbled, pushing himself up again. The man beat him to it and leapt onto Jaden's rising form. He went down again. "Oof," he grumbled from the floor. You're heavy."

"I'm 180 lbs of muscle. I would hope I'm heavy," the ninja hissed into his ear, kicking Jaden in the side.

"OW. I thought you guys weren't supposed to talk. Like mimes or something?" Jaden said, squirming under his hold.

"Well. We aren't," said the man, "But I don't think it matters if I've caught you already."

"Have you?"

"Have I what?"

"Have you caught me?"

The ninja's eyes looked bewildered. He placed a hand between Jaden's shoulder blades and pushed. Hard.

"Of course I have! I'm sitting on top of you aren't I?"

"But I'm not caught if my limbs aren't secured."

"Wha-" but the ninja was cut short by a violent kick to the temple. Jaden got to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Shoulda been watching my legs. But you were too busy telling me that ninjas could talk. They're not _supposed _to lest they get distracted like a fool like you."

"Hmph. Hardly impressive. SIDEKICK!" Jaden turned to see Coach Boomer writing something down on a clipboard. Jaden shrugged and returned to the bleachers. As he clambered up the metal seats several students praised his power and bashed Boomer's decision. Apparently, being a sidekick wasn't a good thing? He settled back into his space between Layla and Zach, haphazardly crawling over Warren to get there.

"So that's your power? Fighting?" Will asked, leaning forward slightly,his arm slung around Layla's shoulders. Jaden could sense the others leaning in closer too, all intent on hearing this discussion.

"Uh. Sure. I mean yeah, it is. Not really a power, I know. But I seem to be abnormally good at it. And I haven't been beat yet…so yeah."

"Shoot. It's more powerful than mine. I glow," Zach said, punching Jaden in the arm.

"Yeah, and I turn into a puddle! How is a human popsicle going to save the day?" Ethan said, laughing.

"C'mon guys. You know we proved last year that sidekicks are heroes too," Layla declared, smiling up at Will. Ugh. Lovey dovey stuff. _'I'm glad I'm not like that anymore…I wish I could be though.' _Jaden sighed and shook his head at the two. _'So here you are tested on whether your power is useful or not. Useless? Sidekick. Useful? Hero. That's kind of similar to Hell's way. Except they called it classifying. Useless? You were a minion. Useful? You were a villain. I was a villain there.'_

"Eh. I don't care if I'm a hero or not. It's all the same to me," Jaden said, pulling his hood back down over his face. "So what do you guys do in gym? Besides set ninjas on people?" _'A NINJA BUTTON. SERIOUSLY.'_

"We usually do the obstacle course or Save the Citizen," Will said, suddenly standing up. "Today is Save the Citizen." Will launched himself from the bleachers and flew to the walled in enclosure in the corner.

"Save the Citizen?" Jaden asked, watching as Warren stood up too, following Will down to the little room.

"Yeah. Two heroes vs. two villains. The heroes have to rescue the citizen in time. Otherwise the cruncher will get the citizen. Will and Warren have been the reigning heroes since last year. Sometimes they'll switch out with us. But they're pretty much undefeated."

"And Will. He flies?"

"Yeah. He has super strength too," Layla said, pointing at Will as he slammed his fist into the ground causing a miniature earthquake. Jaden nodded appreciatively. "Hey, Jaden?"

"Hmm?"

"I like your name. It's real unique. How'd you get it?" Jaden glanced at Layla out of the corner of his eye, calculating her expression. She appeared merely curious.

"I had two brothers. They died in a car crash before I was born. Their names were Jack and Aiden sooo…yeah," he answered looking at his feet. Layla looked stricken. She put a hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off in a hurry.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

"It was a long time ago. Don't worry about it." _'Just don't bring it up ever again.'_

He focused on the four teens now in the enclosed arena. Will was on the offensive, chasing what appeared to be a giant spider around the court. _'A shape shifter maybe?'_ Warren was standing still, staring down a boy on the opposite side. The boy grinned maniacally and inhaled. He then released the biggest lugey (sp?) you could imagine and hacked it in Warren's direction. Warren bounded out of the way. The lugey landed on the glass wall and began to immediately disintegrate it. _'Acid spit. That's a new one. I wonder what Warren can do…' _His internal question was answered as Warren abruptly threw out his arms. As they spread, fire erupted in his palms and crawled up the length of his limbs. _'Fire…he controls fire…fire…' _Jaden covered his eyes. He screamed. And he was suddenly lost to the darkness.

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So that's the second chapter.

AND JADEN STILL ISN'T DONE WITH THE SCHOOL DAY.

Sheesh. Maybe I need to shorten these up a little bit.

Bad fight scene again, I know. _Really _need to work on that. But I wanted ninjas. And you _know _if Boomer has a freakin' car button, he SO has a ninja button. And I _really _wanted to play with ninjas. The next chapter will be relevant to the story, I promise! :D

Anyway. REVIEW. Reviewers get hot fudge sundaes.

So review. Do it. DO IT.

Click the damn button.

DO IT FOR THE CHILDREN! D:


	4. Chapter 3

Third chapter whoo.

Ya know. I forgot to put in any kind of disclaimer. So here it is.

I don't own Sky High.

/Enddisclaimer.

ANYWAY; Time to respond to reviews; Alot of people seemed to like the ninja button. I'm happy my fooling around chapter was a success. Lol.

Kshrimp; Thanks! I'll try. Have a hot fudge sundae. :D

IceAngel95; Thank you! I'm glad you like it. Have a hot fudge sundae. :D

Anonymous x3; Enjoy the hot fudge sundae! And yes, it was weird wasn't it? But all weirdness should be explained in due time. :D

Moo Moo Cow The Writer; Lol. While you like Layla trying to be his friend, Jaden _hates _it. But that should change soon. Thanks for your review! Enjoy the sundae. :D

Kelly; You have the same name as me! :D I hope this quick update cuts down on your waiting time. Have a sundae.

xxNewMoon29xx; Lol. Even if you can't eat the virtual cookies, you can keep them forever! Enjoy your virtual sundae. :D

Coloring books; Aww. But I love making people squirm with my cliffhangers. So I tried making this one a non cliffie just for you. :D Enjoy the sundae.

EDIT: I just got a review that just simply said 'UPDATE.' I laughed so hard, I stayed up late to finish this. Christmas Break is coming soon for me, so hopefully there will be more chapters in the near future.

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Damn it.

Voices.

Again.

Disturbing his sleep.

_Again_.

Who was mumbling to themselves anyway?

"Does anyone have manners anymore?" Jaden mumbled, rubbing at his eyes with his fists. "I feel like I got hit by a bus."

"Nah. If you got hit by a bus you would feel _much _worse. Assuming you lived through it and all," a female voice answered. Jaden's eyes snapped open. He was in one of those starch white beds they have in hospitals. An elderly woman wearing a white lab coat stood over him, her large round glasses magnifying her crinkly eyes ten thousand fold. He tried sitting up only to get bombarded with a throbbing pain in his temples.

"Unh…" he said, before reeling backwards. The nurse scurried over to feel his head. He slapped her hand away. "Don't touch without gloves. Might get germs…or something," he murmured. The woman gave him an odd look, shrugged, and scrambled over to the counter to yank out a pair of latex medical gloves.

"I wouldn't try sitting up for awhile, sugar," she advised, shoving a thermometer into his mouth.

"Thenth why didn'th you tell me thath before?" he grumbled, wiggling the thermometer around with his tongue. It tasted like antiseptic. Ick. The nurse put a hand on top of his head, beneath his jaw, and clamped his mouth shut.

"Would you have listened? Don't talk, just use your head. Can't get your temperature if you moving your mouth." Jaden slowly shook her head no. _'I wouldn't have.' _"Then that settles it." The thermometer beeped. "Ooh! Let's see here…98.6. Perfect. Well your fever has gone down."

"Am I in the hospital?" Jaden asked, throwing an arm over his eyes and settling farther into the pillow. "Why do I tend to wake up in hospitals?" The nurse glanced over at him, her bright eyes wondering.

"You're still at Sky High. Just in the nurse's office. Layla Williams brought you over. Such a nice girl,"

"Yeah. Real nice. What happened?"

Dr. Spex, Jaden learned from the nametag on her breast pocket, had been sitting in here reading when Layla and Will rushed in carrying, who else? Jaden.

"Apparently, you had some kind of fit. Miss Williams said y'all were watching Save the Citizen when you just suddenly screamed and passed out. Hit the bleachers in front of you pretty hard. You'll probably have a bruised forehead and arms. Layla said she tried shaking you awake but you were just plain out. She proceeded to freak out, Will saw his girlfriend was in distress, flew out of the Save the Citizen match and zipped you over here," she said, leaning back in the swivel chair she had pulled up to his bedside. "She also said that you were perfectly fine until a Mr. Warren Peace burst into flames," she added, her kind eyes narrowing suspiciously at Jaden. "So, _Miss _Jaden Hart. Would you like to me yourself what happened?" Jaden balked at the old woman.

"H-how did you-?" he stuttered, sitting up now and glaring at the old woman. "How did you find out?" Spex smiled and patted Jaden's knee comfortingly.

"Don't worry dear. Your secret is safe with me. I assume Principal Powers has knowledge of this?" she asked, perking up a graying brow. The boy simply nodded, his mouth still agape. "When you came in and Layla had said you had fallen, I x-rayed you. You have the skeletal features of a female. Yet, your files say you were male. I put two and two together and assumed it was some kind of secret. Especially since on your medical forms, Principal Powers is your emergency contact. You're on the run aren't you? That's why you're a late transfer. You're running from something. You mind telling me what it is? 'Cause sugar, you look like a girl with a lot of burdens. And if you tell me, perhaps we can figure out what exactly went wrong today." And for the second time that day, Jaden burst into tears. "Oh, honey," Spex said, wrapping her arms around the shaking boy's shoulders. "Oh, honey…"

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"I wonder what's going on with Jaden," Layla mused aloud during fourth period Hero Tactics. It was the only other class the entire gang had together besides gym. Both heroes and sidekicks needed to learn what to do in certain situations. The only one that wasn't with them was Warren. Being a year ahead of them in high school, he had moved on to Crime Crushing, an elective course.

"Yeah. He just screamed and passed out. Who does that?" Magenta said, flicking a paper ball at Zack's head. Zack responded with a paper ball of his own, though his was covered in spit. "Ew! I'll get you for that, you Christmas light!"

"SHHH!" Professor Spide shushed, shooting the group a menacing glare.

"Sorry!" they whispered in response, returning to the rope knots in front of them. Their task was to untie them in less than thirty seconds. Which they had already failed to do.

"But seriously. I wonder why he did that. And why he doesn't wanna talk to us. What do you think, Will?" Layla said softly, turning to look at her boyfriend.

"Why do you care?" Will hissed, glancing over at her with an angry gaze. Layla's eyes widened in shock.

"I was just wondering….sheesh."

Stonghold sighed and turned back to the series of knots in front of him. Layla just didn't get it. At all.

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When Jaden had finally calmed down a bit, she began the tedious task of reciting her story. Well. Parts of it anyway.

"And he was there beside me. He was already dead but I couldn't just leave my only brother there alone. So I stayed with him. I didn't really register that the building was burning and I closed my eyes to sleep I guess? I don't know. The next thing I remember was seeing all these blurs around me. People. People putting me in an ambulance. And then I woke up again in a hospital. But I keep seeing it again and again."

"Jaden. What's your real name?"

"Amelia."

"Then that's what I shall call you," Spex said. Jaden's lip quivered in protest. "JUST in private. Anyway, Amelia. It sounds like to me that you wanted to die with him." The elder looked up from a clipboard she had resting in her lap, her pencil scribbling notes.

'_What is she writing there? I feel like some psycho being evaluated. WHAT is she writing? Argh.'_

"Amelia?" she repeated tapping her pencil to get the boy's attention.

(AN: Even if Spex is calling her Amelia, Jaden will still be called a 'he'. Also, my Dr. Spex is a doctor/psychiatrist)

"Huh, what?" he asked, snapping his thoughts back to the present. "Sorry…can you repeat that?" The woman sighed and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"I said, it sounded like you wanted to die with Aiden. Did you?"

'_I didn't want to die…did I? I don't know, I don't know…'_

"I don't know…" he said aloud, covering his eyes with his hands. He wasn't going to cry again. He was pretty much cried out. But he didn't want to see anything right now. "I don't know…I didn't think, 'I should die'…"

"What were you thinking?"

Jaden's body stiffened, his fingers wrapping around the ivory streaks in his hair. Remember, remember…"I thought…I thought that our bloodline should end here."

"Our bloodline?" Dr. Spex inquired, leaning forward to rest an arm on Jaden's bed.

"Aiden and I…our bloodline. I…I thought that we should end it. No creating anymore Harts."

"Why?"

"Because…because….I don't know! I just thought it! That we shouldn't live! That we shouldn't have children!" Jaden shrieked, pulling out a pillow from behind him to toss at the wall. "I don't know!" He backed up against the bed headboard, pulling his knees to his chest. "It just popped into my head," he whispered. "And then I fell asleep."

"I'm sorry. This clearly upsets you. Perhaps we should move onto something else?" Spex said, her wise eyes studying Jaden intently, before scribbling another note on her clipboard. "Did you see anything after Warren revealed his fire abilities? Like perhaps you dreamed while you were unconscious?"

"Not really. I just saw more fire. And…Aiden standing in it and…my mother."

"Your mother? Did she die in the fire too?"

"No. She died…giving birth to me," Jaden mumbled, his grip around his knees tightening. His face paled ever so slightly.

"Difficult labor?"

"…..You could say that."

Dr. Spex threw a questioning look towards Jaden, her lips stretching into a thin line. Her pencil hovered above the paper as she paused in thought.

"What do you mean?"

"…I killed her."

"You couldn't have possibly killed her," Spex sighed, shaking her head. "You were just a child. It wasn't your fault."

"You don't understand…My _power _killed her."

The old woman looked skeptical. "Amelia. I know you're probably a very talented hero but you couldn't have been born _with _power. It's impossible."

The boy sighed, placing a gloved hand over his face. _'How can I explain…?' _"Dr. Spex. Have you ever heard of…the villain Dark Heart?"

"Of course. Everyone has heard of him. He was one of the most notorious super villains. Couldn't he control minds?"

"Yes. He could bend everyone to his will. Did you hear that he married and had children? One was a boy. He was known as the villain-"

"Dragon Heart!" Dr. Spex interrupted, "He could breathe fire!"

"And then there was one other child…"

"I never heard about the other child."

"That's because Dark Heart only revealed her birth to the villain society, claiming she would be the greatest villain to have ever lived. He tried to hide her existence from the heroes, in case they got it into their minds to steal her away from him."

"Why is that?"

"Because she was born with her power. They gave her a villain title before she was even a year old. Her name was Death Heart."

"I don't understand. What does this have to with you?" The boy sighed, his fingers tangling in his hair once again. It was something he favored when stressed out.

"Think, Dr. Spex. What is my last name?"

"Hart."

"And my brother, Aiden. Do you remember what I told you about his power?"

"He could breathe- Oh no. It can't be true. You're Dark Heart's daughter? Oh my. You are _really _on the run aren't you?"

"Not from him. He's in jail now. My brother and I lived together in an apartment that was left to us. While my brother terrorized New York, I went to school. A villain school called Hell's Depths. My principal, Malicia Sin was my legal guardian until my brother turned 21. SHE'S the one I'm running from. If she ever found out where I was, I'd probably be beaten, Sky High would be obliterated and probably all of Maxville too. When Aiden died and I didn't, I figured I would be Sin's puppet. I couldn't take that. And I didn't want to hurt anymore with my power. So I skipped town."

"And your mother…died from your power?"

"Yes."

"So you're all alone now?"

"…Yes," he whispered, glancing at Spex. She had stopped writing now and had voted to merely listen instead.

"You really have a lot going on in your life, huh, Amelia?"

"Well excluding the fact that I have to hide my past, identity, gender, and power, it's turning into a pretty good life." The Doctor nodded, smiling appreciatively.  
"That's the spirit. If you keep an attitude like that, you'll be just fine." Spex glanced at the clock, gasped and hurriedly began shuffling around the room. She stuffed the clipboard into a locked file cabinet and began to take off her white lab coat. "I'm sorry for keeping you so late, Amelia. You barely have five minutes to school is out! You can return to class if you wish or just stay here."

Jaden shook her head and slowly stood up, checking her balance and wooziness level before fully placing her feet on the floor. "I'll just stay here…Dr. Spex?"

"Yes, dear?"

"What will I tell everyone…I mean about the passing out thing?"

"You could just say you're afraid of fire. That's what it appears to be anyway."

"I can't do that…I can't show a weakness." The woman glanced over shoulder at the boy, her gaze suggesting disbelief.

"It's not a weakness. It's a normal human trait."

"I'm not human."

Spex threw back her head and emitted a loud guffaw. Jaden suppressed her urge to giggle at the woman's donkey-like laugh. He didn't think she'd much appreciate it. However, she did seem like the woman to find about anything humorous.

"Well, let's just say you were sick. You did have a fever after all."

"And the scream? How will I explain that?"

"Hmm. I really don't know, Amelia. I think you might just have to ignore the ones who mention it."

The boy nodded, shrugging his shoulders into the straps of his backpack. It was still empty as Jaden had failed to attend about every class today. _'I REALLY hope no one mentions it. If anyone makes fun of me, I'll just have to hit them.' _He smirked as he opened the door, preparing himself for when the bell rang. "Thanks for your help today…and Dr. Spex?"

"Yes?"

"Can I come back and talk, you know, when I need it?" The old woman smiled, warmly, nodding her head.

"Of course. You're always welcome."

"DDOOOOOOONNNNNNNG!" the intercoms bellowed, signaling the end of the day. Jaden waved as he exited the room, rushing out into the hall to perhaps beat some of the oncoming traffic. "Bye!" he called.

He hurried to the bus, nodding at Ron Wilson as he boarded. He was the first one on. Thank God. Jaden scurried to the back of the bus, taking the last seat. Hopefully, whoever usually sat here wouldn't mind too much. He caught sight of Layla and co. heading towards the vehicle and Jaden was reduced to crouching low in the seat. _'Please don't see me, please don't see me…' _They didn't. Awesome. But he wasn't home free yet. He had to remain hidden. Suddenly, the space beside him was filled and Jaden glanced over to see a very blue girl. She had blue eyes and blue clothes and blue eyeshadow and even blue lipstick. Her hair, however, was a platinum blonde. She looked like she would have a pretty face but Jaden wasn't too sure. It was buried under 20 lbs of makeup. Her clothes were also over done. _'Or should I say under done?' _Her shirt was a low v-cut camisole that began too far below her neck and ended too far above her waist. The girl was too endowed in the chest department to be wearing a washcloth for a shirt. Jaden could see she had a belly piercing that said 'Ice'. She had on an _extremely _short skirt that probably only reached her thighs when standing up. Sitting down it was _much _worse. If he leaned forward a bit, he could probably tell you that her panties were also blue. So he didn't lean forward.

"Hey, cutie. Not that I mind but what are you doing in my seat?"

"Is it okay if I sit here? I don't like sitting up at the front and I'm trying to avoid some people up there," Jaden said, scooting towards the window slightly. This girl was leaning _close._

"Sure, I don't mind. Sit here as long as you want," she said, arching her back as she spoke. Jaden knew this trick. Arch your back, hunch your shoulders. It made your boobs and butt look bigger. A lot of the slutty girls did it at Hell. "I'm Emily Snow, by the way. What's your name?"

"I'm Jaden Hart. Nice to meet you." Emily smiled, hunching her shoulders now.  
"You dating anyone, Jaden?"

Jaden's eyes widened and he scooted away more. She was getting SERIOUSLY close.

"Um, no but-"

"That's GREAT! 'Cause I know this girl that would be just perfect for you!" she squealed, snaking her arms around his own arm, pressing her chest against it as hard as she could. The bus halted to let someone off and Jaden seized his chance.

"My stop! Gottagobye!" he said, leaping out of his seat and scampering down the aisle. He really threw himself off the bus this time, ending in a heap on the sidewalk. The bus pulled away and Jaden released a huge sigh of relief.

"You…okay there?" said a familiar voice. He glanced up to see….

Warren.

Damn it.

Of all the people to see.

It had to be the one that makes him scream like a little girl.

"Im-uh-fine," he said, standing to brush himself off. I was in such a rush to get off the bus, I tripped and…yeah." Warren perked a brow.

"Why'd you get off here?"

"I had to escape," Jaden whispered. He shivered, as if he were cold, but it was more or less due to the fact that his arm just basically got raped. "That girl…uhh!" Warren narrowed his eyes at the petite boy.

"What girl?"

"Ice, snow, something…." Jaden pondered for a moment, his brows knitting together in concentration. He clapped his hands in a sudden realization, his blue eyes lighting up. "Emily Snow! That was it. Yeah, Emily Snow."

"And you had to escape from her why…?" Warren asked, his arms crossing over his chest.

"Because she was hanging all over me…and she was just-ugh!"

The pyrokinetic's fists tightened in their chest embrace. "Just..ugh?"

Jaden shrugged, his face portraying slight confusion. "I don't know. She was just all over me like she couldn't wait to get into my pants. She was like begging to be screwed or-" Jaden's sentence was cut short as Warren's fist collided with his face. Jaden toppled backwards to the ground, his arms flailing for a handhold. As Warren's knuckles connected with Jaden's bare cheek, the pyro slightly stumbled after a wave of drowsiness washed over him. He shook his head vigorously to rid himself of the feeling, before glancing at the sprawled boy on the sidewalk.

"What the hell was that for?!" Jaden shrieked, leaping back to his feet and into a sturdier stance.

"Don't talk about her like that!" Warren growled, glaring at the short, ebony haired boy. "Don't talk about her like she's trash!"

"She sure acted like trash!" Jaden hissed, ducking as another fist came flying his way. He would NOT be caught off guard again.

"She's also my ex-girlfriend!" Warren said, attempting to give Jaden a hard hit to the stomach. Miss.

Jaden paused, slowly blinking and examining Warren like he was the village idiot. "YOUR EX? WHY THE FUCK DOES IT MATTER IF IT'S YOUR EX?"

"Because…" Warren mumbled, his arms slowly returning to his sides. "Because she wasn't always like that and deep down she's a nice girl."

Jaden sighed, punched Warren hard in the jaw to return the favor, and turned to walk away. He didn't really feel like having some long, drawn out fight. "Whatever, douche bag,"he growled, glancing at the fuming boy, behind him. Jaden could practically hear Warren mentally restraining himself from attacking Jaden again. "I didn't know she was your ex, dude, okay? You didn't have to fuck up my face," Jaden murmured, stalking off towards the city's innards.

Leaving Warren to wrestle with his fury, Jaden made his way to the center of the city where a large park resided. Maxville Park, it was so originally dubbed, reminded Jaden of his own native Central Park. The boy had been immediately drawn to the green plot in the center of the metropolitan area upon his arrival the day before. It was also where he was currently living.

_'I'll have to get a job soon if I want to stay somewhere a little nicer,'_ he thought, strolling through the trees to a secluded picnic area. He clambered up one particularly large oak to a hidden tree house, built originally for recreation purposes. Now it served as Jaden's temporary home. It was roofless, but it was the only place he could afford to spend the night for an unlimited amount of time with his financial resources. He had about a $100 dollars with him. Enough to stay in a hotel maybe for two or three days, so he figured he might as well hoard it away for emergencies. Jaden did have a very full account in New York. However, not wanting to risk any kind of paper trail, he had avoided withdrawing from it. He wasn't sure if Malicia Sin even knew he was alive and didn't want to alert her to his survival.

The boy pulled off his gloves and hoodie, tossing them inside the small enclosure. He leapt back down to the grass below, landing in a feline-esqe crouch. He touched his cheek where Warren had hit him, running his fingertips over the area that was already beginning to swell. It would probably be a large bruise…and it already hurt enough. Jaden placed his hands against the grass, running his naked fingers through the greenery. One by one, the grass blades he came into contact with began to turn brown and curl in on themselves. While the grass slowly withered away, the swelling in Jaden's cheek began to lessen. Now he merely felt a slight throbbing pain where it had once felt as if a hammer had struck him. He continued to brush his fingers through the grass, watching sadly how the lawn died off. Sighing, he hopped back to his feet and once again climbed the massive tree. Once inside, he struggled out of his t-shirt and jeans, leaving him in a bandaged torso and boxers. Jaden managed to maintain somewhat of his girly side, proven by a blue lacy hem peeking out over the top of the boxer's elastic. Victoria's Secret, perhaps? The boy shorts Pink Line had been a favorite of Amelia's. Maybe not for Jaden though.

The boy gingerly unwrapped the bandages again, exposing an array of burns across his back. The largest one was three and a half inches wide, a long wound that stretched diagonally across his shoulder blades. They were far from healing as Jaden had escaped the hospital less than a week ago. In fact, he probably wouldn't have the nice pink scar tissue skin for awhile yet. He picked up a tube of cheap burn cream off the floor, a quick purchase at the drug store. Smearing the ointment where he could reach, he leaned over to snatch up a new box of gauze and went to work wrapping his torso again. After tying the white bandages tightly around his chest, a lopsided bow/knot resting right over his heart, he removed a small pillow, sleeping bag, and blanket from a dark blue duffel tucked in the corner. Jaden scooted into the shadows with these items, presumably stretching out to sleep. Next to his head sat a miniscule alarm clock, battery powered, that alerted him to the time and also woke him up for school. It was only about 4 in the afternoon. But Jaden always went to bed extremely early on account of his sudden development of insomnia. Lying there staring at the branches above him tired him out faster than any activity did. He breathed in deeply, recounting his first day at Sky High.

"Total sucky first day. I should have just moved to Siberia," he concluded, closing his eyes.

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And that's the end of the third chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it.

And guess what you get if you review this time.

A ninja button!

THAT'S RIGHT! I SAID NINJA BUTTON!

For a limited time for the just the price of a review you can have your very own NINJA BUTTON!

So click it.

Do it for all the ninjas in need of homes!

I so need Billy Mays. :c


	5. Chapter 4

I DON'T OWN SKYHIGH.

If I did, I would have never unleashed Warren to the public. He would be locked in my basement. :U

Dude. Dude. Reviews; 24. Favs; 6. Alerts; 23. Wait for it, wait for it…Hits; 928! SWEET JESUS, that's amazing.

Reviews;

**tailendwriter**: Thanks! Enjoy your ninja button. C:

**missy lu-lu-lune:** It wasn't a very soon update I'm afraid. :c Hopefully the taco zombies will be kind to me. =V

**rainbowclownzombies:** I agree. The kittens deserve our love more than the children.

**xxNewMoon29xx:** But Warren doesn't KNOW she's a girl. So a punch in the face is okay. I'm still making him pay for it later. C;

**Wee:** MORE request completed. C:

**ink-and-ash**: Nope. It was Kat attempting different ways to add spaces between different scenes. :c But I like your literary device idea MUCH better. Much thanks!

**Kelly: **HERE'S YOUR NINJA BUTTON! :D

**Ilovefanfiction:** Good! I didn't want anyone to know right away. I'll be dropping hints until her powers are revealed straight out. J

**KenkonNoMegami:** I'm afraid it wasn't fast but it is an update! :D

**Raine44354:** I'm glad you like the ninja button.

Ninja buttons to all reviewers I didn't respond to!

I was updating these responses as they came but then I abandoned the story for awhile. A long while. And I didn't save the reviews I have received since then. Very sorry! I'll respond next time, promise. C:

NOW. ON WITH THE STORY.

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Jaden squirmed in his sleeping bag. He still hadn't fallen asleep yet and it was nearly eleven. He was so tired. But he was more terrified of his dreams than anything else right now. They were too vivid. Too painful. Perhaps sleeping meds would help? But he was afraid he'd be too tempted to take the whole bottle and escape life altogether.

**"Grnnnnghaaah**", growled Jaden's stomach, startling him into an upright position. He snaked a hand over his abdomen, pressing the soft skin that covered it.  
"I should probably get something to eat, huh? I did throw away my lunch…" He ran a hand through his hair, combing the longer black locks behind his ears. The two ivory strands broke free, they always broke free, and took up their places on either side of his face. Jaden sighed and hopped to his feet. Another sleepless night it would be for him, wandering the streets of Maxville. He missed the hustle and bustle of New York. When night fell in Maxville, there wasn't much going on. Some people milled the streets but it wasn't the crowds of his home town.

He stretched his arms into the air, wincing as the skin pulled tight across his back. It seemed like no matter how many plants he killed and absorbed the burns just wouldn't heal any faster. There was no explanation for it that he could think of. He picked up his crumpled jeans and hopped into them, one leg at a time. He then shoved his feet into his Converse. A black wife beater was his shirt of choice, a black zip-up hoodie to go over it. And last but not least, his black leather gloves. Down the tree he scrambled, opting to throw himself off the trunk halfway down to cut climbing time. With his hands jammed into his pockets and his hood pulled low over his eyes, Jaden set off to find some food, life, and perhaps some courage to sleep.

It wasn't long before the short, dark clad boy was strolling down Restaurant Row, scowling in the shop windows of the places that were open. Maxville wasn't New York but it still had some metropolitan charm. There were several places still open this late on a week night. A coffee shop, a diner, several bars, a McDonalds, a laundromat, a Chinese restaurant…A CHINESE RESTAURANT? Jaden hadn't had Chinese since…since his last date with Jack. The Saturday afternoon before the ball that night had been spent gallivanting around China Town. Jaden loved the oriental culture. The music, dress, and most of all…the food. He skipped across the street and yanked on the handle of the glass door before realizing it said push. He giggled and thrust his weight against it. He was notorious for disobeying the directions on doors. An assortment of bells hanging from the top of the door signaled his entrance. He heard a woman from the back call out what sounded like a greeting. Or perhaps it was a death threat. He wasn't sure, after all, she had spoken in what sounded like Mandarin Chinese.

He slid into a booth in the corner. With his back to the wall he could survey the entire restaurant and look out the window to his right. He was in the process of gazing out said window, examining the flickering streetlights when a muffled cough announced the arrival of someone next to him. He glanced over to see a waist wrapped in an apron. Attached to the waist? Mother fucking Warren. Couldn't Jaden get a break from this guy?

**"I'm leaving, I'm leaving so don't hit me okay?**" Jaden sighed, scooting out of the seat. Warren made a disgruntled face and shoved him back into it. **"Dude! Chill! I'm going, don't hassle me!"** It was now Warren's turn to sigh.

**"Shut up, what's your name, Jaden? I'm not going to hit you. I'm here to take your order,**" Warren said, pulling a notepad from his apron pocket. Jaden shot him a questioning look.

**"You're not going to hit me?"**

**"No."**

Jaden stared at him, his mouth pulled into a straight line. Warren seemed to be telling the truth but…eh. Whatever. He wanted some food. He quickly scanned over the menu on the table but he already knew what he wanted.

**"Well…okay. Can I get a sesame chicken with white rice and a….strawberry milkshake please?"**

**"A strawberry milkshake?"**

Jaden glanced up at the scoff like tone Warren had questioned him with.

**"Do you not have those?"** he asked, flipping over to the beverages section. Nope, they had milkshakes like every other American restaurant.

**"We have them but…that's just such an odd combination and kinda, well, girly,"** Warren replied, his mouth twitching into a smirk. Jaden suddenly noticed the large purple-blue bruise that had formed across his jaw. A split lip too. Man, he hadn't realized how hard he had hit the guy. Oh well. He deserved it. Ass.

**"So I like strawberry milkshakes. Doesn't make me gay. Now go get it waiter boy,"** Jaden hissed, snapping his menu shut and handing it to Warren. The pyro snatched it from his outstretched, gloved hand and stomped away. He'd probably spit in Jaden's food now but Jaden didn't really care. The boy turned his attention to the items on the table and realized a set of crayons hidden was behind the salt and pepper. Probably for the kids to entertain themselves with when coming here with the old folks. He dumped the box onto the table and began to sort through them. Picking out purple, blue, black, and green, his favorite colors, he plucked a napkin from the dispenser and started doodling. Swirl upon swirl. Leaves, flowers, feathers, Jaden tended to lean toward more organic doodles. He always did this when he was bored. He used to have a box full in his room in New York. Napkins and menus and tissues and fliers and tickets. Things he had doodled on when he had the chance. Most of them had been from dates with Jack.

A lock of white suddenly obstructed his view. He sighed and reached up to flip his bangs out of his eyes. No one else knew but his white forelocks had been trimmed to above eyelevel a mere four days ago. Now they were about the length of the rest of his hair. The ivory streaks were mind baffling to Jaden. No scissors could keep them short. No dye could darken them. No pin would hold them. It was if they weren't a part of his hair at all. As if it was another entity altogether.

A sudden clank brought Jaden out of his reverie. Warren had placed the sesame chicken in front of him, steaming hot, along with the strawberry milkshake. The milkshake had whipped cream and sliced strawberries and everything. He was actually looking forward to this meal. Jaden glanced up to Warren and flashed a genuine smile.

**"Thanks, even if you did spit it in it,"** he said, picking up a pair of chopsticks as he thanked him.

Warren looked down at the boy and noticed that Jaden had extremely blue eyes. The exact same shade of blue that covered the fine china in the kitchen with intricate designs. And that he had long black lashes. And a small nose that curved up at the end. And a pair of poutish, almost impish lips. And that when those lips broke into a smile, it somehow made him smile back.

And that there was a sudden fluttering feeling in his stomach.

And his heart beat a little faster.

'_What are you thinking? I think you're a little confused, heart. Guy. He's a guy. Male. MALE. You're not attracted to MALES.'_

**"Uhm. You're welcome."** Warren backed away and scurried behind the waiter's station.** "What the hell, Warren. Seriously. What. The. Hell." **He leaned against the counter and heard a crunch. He winced and reached his hand into his pocket. His fingers curled around and withdrew a shattered fortune cookie.** "Whoops. Crushing your fortune? I wonder what that means for me."** He opened the plastic wrap and dumped the cookie crumbs into his hand. His brow furrowed. **"Well. That's odd. No fortune at all."**

**"Crap!"** he suddenly heard someone exclaim. Warren peeked over the partition that separated his area from the customers'. Jaden was glaring at what appeared to be a piece of sesame chicken on the table. Warren watched as the black haired boy removed his gloves and set them in the booth beside him. Having a sudden urge, Warren grabbed another fortune cookie and ambled back to the booth.

"Here," Warren said, tossing a wrapped fortune cookie onto the table. Jaden jumped, startled by his sudden appearance and picked up the cookie.

**"T-thanks," **he stammered, still a bit shaken up. He was further surprised as Warren slid into the seat across from him. _'Whaaaaa-?'_ Warren didn't say anything more. Just stared at him. Almost…scrutinizing. **"Um…is there something else?"** Jaden asked slowly, suspicious of this sudden human contact.

Warren didn't answer him right away. Jaden's suspicions were right. Warren _was _scrutinizing him, evaluating him closely.

**"I was just wondering why you had taken off your gloves. Never seen you without them before,"** he said, his voice, low, and suspicious itself. However, Jaden mentally sighed in relief.

'Was that all? Phew. I thought he knew EVERYTHING for some reason and he was going to out me, here and now.' **"Oh. I was having a hard time with the chopsticks. My fingers aren't so graceful in gloves," **he replied, ripping the plastic wrap from the cookie. Warren noticed that the skin on Jaden's hands was as pale as his face. His hands were also small and decidedly delicate looking.

**"Why do you wear gloves anyway? It's still hitting eighty outside,"** Warren said, reaching over to take a red crayon to begin his own doodling session on a napkin.

**"I'm always cold,**" Jaden quickly replied, too quickly. As if it was an automatic response. Warren glanced up at him.

**"I also wonder why I have a big b****ruise and you don't,"** Warren commented, his eyes narrowing. But Jaden had been wondering about this too, a reply anyway in case Warren asked. He started thinking up an excuse as soon as he saw how badly he had marred Warren's face.

**"Have you ever heard of sickle cell disease? Where your blood doesn't clot easily?"**

**"Yeah."**

**"Well, I have it. I don't bruise very easily,"** he answered smoothly. Jaden's finger curled around the piece of white sticking out of the fortune cookie and pulled it out. Two slips of paper fell out. Two fortunes.

**"I was actually going to apologize to you about this afternoon but since you're just fine and dandy, I won't,"** he said.

**"I accept your apology anyways."**

Warren fell silent, his eyes studying Jaden _very _closely. Jaden glanced up fleetingly.

**"Is there something else?"** he asked, reaching for his two fortunes.

**"I also wonder why you were crying in the library today,"** Warren said softly, staring straight at Jaden's downturned face. He saw the muscles in the boy's hand freeze as they reached for the fortunes. Slowly, the ebony haired boy looked up, his blues eyes wide, scared.

**"And I wonder why you're asking me so many questions,**" said Jaden in a strangled voice, suddenly scooting out of the booth. He threw a ten dollar bill on the table and made a bee line for the exit. Warren called after him but it was no use. Jaden disappeared onto the street. Warren sighed, stood up and began to clear the dishes from the table before he noticed a small black heap in the corner of Jaden's seat. His gloves…Warren snatched them up, yanked off his apron, and called to Mrs. Lei in the back to tell her he'd be right back.

Warren hurried out into the dark. It was nearing midnight now. He saw a flash of white at the end of the street. Jaden with his oddly colored hair. Warren broke into light jog, aiming to catch up to the boy but for some reason…not wanting to alert Jaden to his presence yet. He followed the small boy for several streets, the whole time ducking into shadows when Jaden happened to turn around. Warren didn't understand his own wish to remain hidden, he just knew that he had to. Eventually, Jaden and his stalker had reached Maxville Park.

_'Why the hell is he going to a park at this time of night?'_ Warren wondered. Surely the kid didn't think that this was a safe shortcut. There are freaks in the park at night. And they would just love a pretty little thing like him-WHOA WHOA WHOA. _'Did I just think Jaden was fucking pretty? What. The. Hell. Mind. What. The. Hell.'_

The ebony haired boy circled a particularly large tree in a secluded picnic area. He suddenly glanced at his hands as if he noticed that they were bare for the first time. He cursed. And put a palm to the trunk of the tree before quickly withdrawing it. He then crouched and touched the grass at his feet. Warren squinted at the figure. He couldn't be sure…but he thought he just saw the grass around Jaden darken. Must be his shadow.

Warren continued to watch as the boy finally climbed up the tree, very quickly, and disappeared into the darkness at the top. The pyrokinetic moved closer and realized that there was a treehouse hidden in the shadows of the oak's branches.

_'Why is he…surely he doesn't…he can't…he can't live there can he? No…he lives in Layla and Will's neighborhood. He must be just stopping here for something. Maybe it's where he plays.' _The boy snorted. Playing in a tree house. What a little kid. But as long as Warren remained, Jaden didn't reemerge from the wooden enclosure. Getting curious by the minute, Warren finally moved even closer and discovered that the grass at the base of the tree wasn't in shadows…it was dead.

_'What…is going on here?_' He glanced up into the branches and shook his head. He didn't like this. Not at all.

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Jaden cursed his stupidity into the confines of his pillow.

**"How could I have left my gloves? Dammit…what will I do at school tomorrow? And Warren! Geez…who would've thought it was him in the library…" **_'And why did he ask so many questions? That boy is too observational for his own good.'_ He sighed, burying his face even more._ 'I need those gloves for school tomorrow…I'll just have to avoid everyone and see if Powers doesn't have any hidden away in her office.'_

At least he was sufficiently tired out now. Warren had wreaked havoc on his nerves. He rolled over, checking his alarm clock. 12:14. Not too bad. He closed his eyes and settled deeper into his sleeping bag before he jolted upright.

**"I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO HAVE ANY OF MY MILKSHAKE!"**

The boy screamed in frustration and pulled the pillow over his head.

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As soon as Warren entered the Paper Lantern, a string of curses pelted him. It was Mrs. Lei, standing there with both hands on her hips. He hadn't exactly been 'right back' as he had promised her.

**"Bu hao yi se,"** he said. "**I'm sorry. I'll clean up right away." **He scurried over to the last dirty table which was incidentally his and Jaden's. His and Jaden's… _'STOP MIND STOP.'_ He picked up the plate and swept the uneaten cookie crumbs onto it before noticing the slips of paper remaining. He picked them up. One said:

_You are in for troubled times ahead. Be true to yourself and you will make it through them._

The other:

_You will meet someone who will change your life. Beware what secrets they keep._

Warren's mind began to whir.

**"_Mrs. Lei. A customer complained about not having a fortune in his cookie. What do I do?"_**

**"_Tell him someone else has it."_**

**"_What?" _**

**"_Someone else has his fortune. While his cookie has no fortune, someone else will have two."_**

**"_How would that help? That'd make me mad that someone else stole my fortune."_**

_Mrs. Lei giggled._

**"**_**No, no. His fortune is WITH someone else. His fate is twisted with theirs. He'll have to find them to get it."** Warren stared at the little old woman as if she were crazy and returned to the table with the disgruntled customer. Amazingly enough, he didn't get mad. He simply smiled and seemed to ponder over the information Warren had supplied. _

Warren had gotten a big tip that day.

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Alas, a chapter.

Not very long.

Not very detailed.

In all, one of my crappiest.

I'm sorry. :C

I'm trying to recapture my muse.

Little hussy escaped from her jar several months ago.

Please review. Might give me some energy to go chase her.

I don't have anything to offer my faithful reviewers besides depression. D:

I'm so emo. Gah. REVIEW.

xoxo,

Kinetic Kat


	6. Chapter 5

Well. Here's another chapter. Still haven't caught my muse yet. If I get enough reviewers, I might send out my crowd of characters on a search party.

For being the first reviewer on my crappy chappie, ShadowHex gets a very intimate hug from Jaden. (Don't worry, his skin will not touch you. That'd be such a crappy prize.)

And plus I like Shadow's profile picture. It inspires me.

**ShadowHex:** I hope this is soon enough for you. Much thanks for the review. C:

**kshrimp:** Thanks for coming back! :D I'm much obliged. I hope you like this chapter too. C:

**coloringbooks**: Thank ya thank ya. :) Thanks you for coming back also!

**EvilPurpleCookiePenkeyMonguin****:** I'm working on that 'more' as fast as I can. :D

**xxNewMoon29xx:** I had Jaden throw a ten dollar bill on the table to pay for it. My Chinese restaurant only takes about seven bucks from me so I thought that would be sufficient. I actually didn't think about him paying until I was done with the chapter so I was like 'CRAP!' and threw that in there. ^^; And yes. I think I'm recapturing her slowly but surely. Hopefully this chapter is more up to my regular quality.

**yarrowbadrabbit: **Thank you. I need all the luck I can get. My muse was created with wings. D:

**Natie**: I can't wait either! And yes, yes. Boy toy forever locked away in the basement. Lol.

I didn't get to all my reviewers in this one author's note, I apologize, but I've already typed up my replies to you for the beginning of chapter 6.

So don't worry, I'm not ignoring you, just saving you. C:

In other news, 2-1 by Imogen Heap drove me to start this chapter. Sleepsong by Secret Garden helped me finish it. I'll be doing that from now on, inserting songs that help me write. Check them out, my taste isn't completely horrendous. c:

Don't own SkyHigh. Fml.

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_It was dark. _

'What time was it?'

"_**Amelia…"**_

'Who's there?'

"_**Amelia…"**_

'Don't call me that. It's not my name. Jaden is my name now.'

"_**Oh, Amelia…"**_

_There, to the left. A streak of white in the darkness. It was a dress, a white dress…but who…?_

"_**Amelia, my beautiful baby girl…come to me…"**_

'Mother. It's my mother. The mother I never met. The mother I killed.'

_And then there she was. _

_A slender, petite woman much like Jaden himself in stature. She was clad entirely in white, like she always appeared to Jaden in his dreams. A white flowing dress reaching down to her bare feet. A white daisy, pinned to hold back her long blonde hair. She was pale, with delicate hands, a delicate mouth, and a delicate nose. Yes, Jaden took after her a lot. But when ever Jaden came to his mother's eyes…they should be blue, blue like his own. But in his dreams._

_They were always pitch black._

"_**Amelia…don't run away. Let mama hold you."**_

_Jaden backed away. He knew how this part always ended._

'No, I don't want you to hold me.'

_The black eyes flickered to white momentarily, then to black again. Her arms stretched towards the boy._

"_**Why not, baby…? Why won't you let your mother hold you?"**_

'Because you hate me for killing you.'

_His mother's form began to twist and break apart, little pieces flying into the air like…white ashes. _

"_**That's right my dear girl…I hate you…"**_

_The writhing mass began to spread along the edges of her dream like oil until a small spark ignited the fluid like substance. Her mother had become fire now and another form was manifesting itself in the flames. A tall, slender shape._

_Aiden. _

_He stepped away from the fire, tendrils of flame wrapping themselves lovingly around his limbs, body, and face. His eyes, like his mothers, were black pits. Some flames would near these holes of darkness and be sucked into it, never to reappear again. He would always get close enough to Jaden for tendrils to get brave and eventually jump onto the smaller boy. They would always fizzle out and die before they reached him though. Jaden used to think the fire would burn him but this fire was cold. Cold like death._

"_**Little sister…come give your big brother a hug."**__ Jaden shook his head, backing away from this creature as well._

'No.'

"_**I don't hate you for killing me, little sister…it was an accident…"**_

_Jaden swallowed over a hard lump in his throat. This dream replayed in his head everytime he fell asleep and he still never got used to what these dreams made him realize. The truths hurt so bad._

'But you do hate me…you tried to kill me with yourself in that building. You knew I wouldn't leave you. And you wanted me to die too.'

_The dream Aiden's eyes flickered like his mother's had. To a sickly white, to a deathly black. The change always made Jaden cringe. _

"_**That's true, little Amelia…aren't you such a smart girl…"**__ he cackled, throwing back his head so his laughter could echo through the darkness of the dream. Jaden flinched away, his feet taking him even farther back. Aiden turned to look at him as he tried for some kind of escape. The young man's face twisted into a menacing grin, flames licking around his teeth and lips. _

"_**You should have died with me…"**__ he growled, his body beginning to melt away from the unfelt heat of the cold flames. He became a pool at the bottom of Jaden's feet. A silver pool. Jaden could never stop himself from looking into the pool at his own reflection._

_He examined the two streaks of white in his hair. The two lives he had taken. And his blue eyes. They turned pitch black in his reflection, like his mother's and brother's. His mouth curved into a devilish smile. And then his reflection began to break free from his pool. Jaden gasped and leapt away, his twisted face erupting from the pool and twining itself around his neck, giggling maniacally. _

"_**Oh, Amelia…"**__ a thousand voices whispered in unison, though Jaden's reflection's lips never moved. __**"Come with us into the darkness…."**_

'NOO!'

_But he never got to choose. Blackness blotted out his vision and all he could hear was the whispers of those voices and the chuckling of some man, somewhere he could never reach._

Jaden jolted awake, his brow plastered with sweat. His whole body seemed to be covered in a fine layer of moisture and that didn't include the tears slipping slowly down his cheeks. His chest rose and fell in ragged breaths. He couldn't help but to release a small whimper.

And then the whimpers became wails.

Jaden's arms wrapped around his knees, pulling them close to his chest.

'_I can't breathe I can't breathe I can't breathe-'_

He sucked in a gasp of air.

His chest hurt so badly.

His heart always felt like it was breaking after these dreams.

Another breath of air.

The painful cries he was releasing began to lessen. After several minutes, they became sniffles.

Jaden buried his face in his hands, his mind flicking back to remember the dream unwillingly.

"**I hate this…"** he whispered. **"Every time…every time I close my eyes…"**

He sighed and glanced at the small clock to his left. 2:37a.m. **"Crap."**

He wouldn't be able to go to sleep tonight again.

Stretching his arms gingerly upward, the healing skin tearing bit by bit. Jaden winced.

"**It didn't seem to hurt that much when I was fighting those ninjas…"** Well of course. Hell taught you to forget pain in the heat of battle. You'd never lose that way. Fight until the death. He shivered and rubbed at his eyes.

Two minutes later, the boy was dressed and sitting in a swing on a playground not 200 yards away from his tree house. Back and forth, back and forth he swung, his feet not even touching the ground. Jaden had been doing this the last two nights he had been in Maxville. He had discovered that he enjoyed swinging. Sometimes he would go slide too. But swinging had to be his favorite.

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Warren tossed and turned in his sleep, his dreams plagued by odd images.

_He was walking through a wooded area. Great big Spanish oaks surrounded him and the sunlight dappled the mossy ground. He had heard laughter a few hundred feet back and had started in this direction in an attempt to find the source of it. _

_A giggle._

_He turned right._

_A laugh._

_He sped up his pace._

_He emerged into an open area, covered in wild grasses and flowers alike. A figure in white seemed to be dancing in the middle. No,wait, make that two figures, roughly the same size. _

"_**Hello?"**__ he called out to them but they didn't seem to hear. Warren could see that they were female from here. One was a platinum blonde and the other had long black hair. They were clothed in long white cotton dresses. The two girls twirled round and round, dancing in the meadow. _

_He walked closer, just a few feet away now, until his foot crunched down upon a particularly loud branch. They paused in their play and turned to look at him. Warren froze. He could see their faces clearly now. He hadn't realized that his eyes had been glued to the black haired girl the whole time and when her face tilted away from the blonde to stare at him he gasped._

_She looked exactly like Jaden. A white streak on either side of her face and everything. _

_And he had to say, Jaden looked good as a girl. _

"_**Jaden?"**__ he asked but it was the blonde who responded. On closer inspection, her hair appeared to be white. The ivory haired beauty was much older than Jaden's twin but had the same piercing blue eyes. _

"_**No,"**__ she replied, __**"Her name is Amelia."**__ And the meadow suddenly faded from his view along with newly dubbed Amelia. Warren and the snow haired woman were now surrounded by nothing but white. _

"_**Who are you?"**__ he asked the woman, stepping back. The woman smiled warmly, stretching a hand out to him._

"_**My name is Ami," she said, "I'm Amelia's mother."**__ Warren gingerly reached his hand out to shake hers. Her hands looked like Jaden's._

"_**I don't really get what you're doing in my dream…I don't know an Ami or Amelia,"**__ he mumbled, scratching the back of his head. Ami nodded in understanding, her eyes closing as she took a deep breath._

"_**I'm just introducing myself to you, Warren. You're going to help me save my daughter."**_

_Warren merely blinked in response. His mouth dropped open slightly in astonishment and he took a stumbling step backwards._

"_**What the hell is going on?"**__ he whispered shaking his head. He did NOT get this dream at all. Ami smiled, revealing a perfect set of pearly whites. _

"_**That's easy to answer. A Revolution," **__she said her pinks lips curling up into what resembled a smirk._

"_**W-what?" **__he stammered, he suddenly felt enclosed, trapped. Ami laughed and slowly backed away, her form fading._

"_**You asked what was going on, Warren. There's your answer. A Revolution is beginning and you, my friend, are a part of it," **__she said, her body disintegrating into mist like particles leaving behind the ghostly impression of her smile. A Cheshire Cat's grin, always having the last laugh._

Warren jerked awake in his king sized bed, his damp sheets entwining themselves around his legs. He coughed, gasping in some much needed air and glanced around his dim bedroom. A streetlight outside flickered, causing his room to lapse into temporary darkness. He combed back his sticky bangs with his fingers, a scowl plastered to his brow.

"**Seriously…what the hell was that?"** he mumbled, sitting upright and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Sweat covered his bare back in a thin layer, small droplets running down the length of his spine. He kicked his tangled legs free, his sheets crumpling into a pile on the floor. He stood, shaking his head. **"Seriously…what kind of mental illness is harboring itself in my subconscious? What a freak dream…"**

He stretched his arms to the ceiling, bones snapping like an arthritic old man. **"Since I'm awake, I guess I could do that homework that was due last month…nah. I'll go work out." **Warren leaned down to snatch up his gym shorts and tug them on. Not very gracefully either. He strutted from his dark bedroom and into his living room. Taking a comfortable position on the couch he picked up the TV remote and pointed it at the bookcase. He then pressed the number combination 3743 and the bookcase slid to the side. The couch produced wheels and shot forward into the gaping hole that the bookcase had previously covered. A metal track led Warren about 60 feet down, underground, into a large cavern like space. The room was currently pitch black but when lighted, it would reveal a large gym, much like the one at SkyHigh. It contained both fitness equipment and obstacle courses. His mother had installed it over the summer when she realized Warren wasn't completely protected from villains at his school. It was to prepare him more thoroughly for challenges that would surely lie ahead.

It was his sanctuary.

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Beep. Beep. BEEP. BEEP. BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP.

The incessant noise startled Jaden out of his daydreaming.

"**What the…? GOD. How I loathe alarm clocks!"** he groaned, swiping at the little blue box. He succeeded in hitting the snooze button but he also succeeded in knocking the clock down the hole in the floor and onto the grass beneath the tree. Jaden sighed and put a hand over his face. _**'Why do I always do that? Why can't I just lightly tap it instead of sweeping my arm at it? Geez, you are such an idiot.' **_

The boy peered over the edge of the gaping hole in his floor that acted as the entrance to his arborary home. The little box was silent now. It also appeared to be in two pieces.

"**I sure as hell hope that the back just popped off." **

He jumped down, skipping the climbing route altogether and poked the remains of his timepiece. It was in two pieces alright. And not in the way he had hoped. _**'Dammit. It appears my clock can only survive about 3 falls. After that. Game over.'**_Sighing again, he scooped up the remains, deposited it in a nearby trash can and made his way back up the tree.

Jaden grabbed a change of clothes, a small towel, and a small traveling kit out of his duffel bag. Leaping down the length of the tree again, he made his way to the local pool a few blocks away. It was a little too close to buildings for his comfort but at five in the morning, he assumed not many would be out and about. Besides, the local pool had a locker room, complete with showers and everything. Jaden glanced around before leaving the cover of the trees and shrubbery for the cover of pavement and brick walls. Which weren't much cover at all. He skirted around the backs of buildings until he came to the rear of the locker rooms. A chain link fence closed off the pool and entrance to the locker buildings but a fence was nothing to Jaden. He threw his stuff over, then himself, and was on his way again. He checked again for spying eyes before entering the girls' locker room. He would go into the boys' but…the urinals put him off. Too foreign a concept for him to embrace.

He relieved himself, bathed, and brushed his teeth. Even on the run, even in _hiding_, Jaden could never abandon his need for cleanliness. Unless it was, well, absolutely necessary.

He enjoyed how easy his visual upkeep was now since he had short hair and didn't wear make up anymore. Though he still wished for a bit of eyeliner every now and then.

He clothed himself in another pair of ripped boys' jeans and a black tank top. A black hoodie with white angel wings on the back completed his look. The wings were kind of girly but Jaden hoped since the hoodie was so baggy, no one would pay that much attention. Plus, he really liked the angel wings. They were cute. COOL. He meant they were cool. Guys don't say cute.

He was missing his gloves but he didn't have a spare. The one thing he probably REALLY needed a spare of. But he assumed Principal Powers would have something lying around her shopping center of an office.

He stopped by the tree house to pick up his backpack and started the two mile trek to Layla and Will's neighborhood. When reemerging from the park he repeated his duck-and-cover, dive-and-roll, look-over-shoulder routine. Unbeknownst to him, a pair of eyes did see him even with all his safety procedures.

Warren watched the ebony haired boy suspiciously from his apartment window. Like Jaden, he hadn't been able to go back to sleep after his dream. Unlike Jaden, who sat in a daze after swinging for an hour, Warren had spent his time working out, then researching on the internet. He was going to decipher his dream and figure what the hell was going on with his world lately.

He was also going to figure out why the hell Jaden was headed towards the suburbs when the closest bus stop was just two blocks away in the opposite direction. And why he was acting like James Bond. _**'Weirdo.'**_

Jaden ran into Will and Layla just as he turned onto Ashe Street. Layla smiled and waved at him while Will gave him a look quite close to…well. _Loathing _would be the word.

"**Hey, Jaden! Good morning! How'd you sleep? Doesn't it look like it'll rain? I think it'll rain. Don't you?"** she said, by way of greeting. Jaden inwardly groaned and didn't reply to the _way _too hyper girl. It was like the words just formed and bubbled out of her mouth. Jaden received a sudden mental image of the alphabet trapped in bubbles, being released from Layla's mouth, nose and ears. The boy had to suppress his laughter. He quickly replaced the small smile creeping onto his face with his signature scowl.** "Jaden! Jay! You awake?" **Layla asked, clearly not understanding that the world did not entirely consist of 'morning people'. Jaden glanced at the beaming girl, shrugged and turned away, waiting for the bus to appear. Before he knew it, a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"**Hey!"** Will said, glaring at the boy, **"What is your problem? Layla is constantly trying to talk to you and you're always blowing her off. Get off your high horse, be polite and respond at least!" **Jaden's eyes flickered to Will's brown orbs, his arm reflexively shooting up to swipe away Will's. While his mouth said 'talk to her' his eyes said something else. What was it…?

"**Jealousy..."** mumbled Jaden. A hint of it at least.

"**What?" **Will said, squinting down at him.

"**I said, you don't want me talking to her any more than I want to talk to her,"** Jaden replied, adding a 'hmph' at the end for effect.

"**That's not what you said…"**

"**But it's my reply and it's true." **

Will's eyes narrowed and he took a step back.

"**You're such a little jerk,"** Will said.

"**Will!"** Layla gasped. Will grabbed her hand and dragged her several feet away.

"**We'll wait over here,"** was his reply to her.

Inside of Jaden, a smirk was growing and a maniacal giggle was bubbling up in his throat. _**'What the hell is going on with you, Amelia? You are getting crazy. Sleep deprivation is taking its toll on your mental health.'**_ The boy rolled his eyes at the couple and instead focused on the steadily increasing mass of yellow coming down the street.

When boarding the bus, Jaden had decided the night before to just suck it up and sit with Emily Snow. She once dated Warren, so she can't be that bad right? Jaden passed the only other available space he knew of, the space beside Warren, he chanced a glance at the pyrokinetic. The bruise still marred his jaw but what caught Jaden off guard were his suspicious eyes. They watched his every move with precision. When Warren realized that Jaden was quite aware of his staring, he blinked and swiveled his gaze to the window.

Jaden's eyes reduced to slits and he shuffled on by the staring boy to the back where a very blue girl was bouncing up and down.

'_**What is up with these chipper morning people? Ugggghhhh.' **_

Emily grinned at Jaden and immediately scooted over to make room.

"**Come back for more, huh shorty?"** she said, giggling. Jaden gave her the once over.

A turquoise mini dress (v-cut), white studded belt, and white pumps. All and all. Still skanky. Bleh.

"**I like your shoes and belt but why don't you wear something a little…covering?"** Jaden advised, his hand under his chin as if he was pondering Emily's outfit, which he was.** "Or a sweater to go over the dress. **_**Something.**_**" **The blonde merely blinked, presuming, she was shocked into silence.

"**Thanks. I think. I had no idea boys paid such close attention to what I wore," **she murmured, shifting uncomfortably.

"**Please. You do too know. The only reason to wear those kinds of things would be to show off what you've got **_**to **_**the boys," **scoffed Jaden.

"**I know **_**that. **_**Sheesh. I mean. Paying attention to the assemblage of the actual outfit. You're like a g-…"**

"**Girl?" **Jaden guessed, mentally slapping himself in the process. _**'Don't give her clues, you dope!'**_

"**Actually," **Emily said with a perked brow, **"I was going to say 'a gay'." **

"**A gay? What am I? Some kind of animal?"**

"**So you're gay?"**

"**Wait-what?"**

"**You admit you're gay?"**

"**What-NO. I'm not."**

"**It's okay, you can trust me."**

"**But I'm not-"**

"**Wow, who would have thought…actually. It makes sense really. You're kind of small. And clean. And you're such a pretty boy." **

"**I'm NOT-wait. What do ya mean I'm a **_**pretty boy**_**?"**

"**You're not handsome really-"**

"**Gee, thanks."**

"**-you're cute, dainty, **_**pretty.**_

"**But I'm…God. Just forget it." **Jaden shook his head in frustration and glanced out the window as SkyHigh came into view. He would be getting off soon anyway, no point in arguing until the bus ride home. Emily beamed and snatched at the bare hands hidden in his hoodie pockets. Jaden's immediate reaction was a hiss of disapproval and the yanking of his limb away. Emily's fingers brushed against his naked skin briefly, causing her eyelids to flutter sleepily. He stuffed his hands back into pockets and glared at the girl. She shivered, as if cold and stuck her lower lip out in a pout.

"**I was just going to say you could be my gay best friend," **she grumbled.

"**Sorry. All my friend slots are filled," **he replied as he and the other students ambled off the bus and crowded into the courtyard.

"**But you don't have any friends!" **she cried, as Jaden disappeared into the mass of people.

"**Exactly," **he said, smirking.

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Well. That's it.

Some interesting developments, huh?

Tell me your thoughts.

:D

Pleeeease?

And your guesses too. C:

Chapter 6 will be up soon, promise.

Read. Review.

Still not as good as my regular chapters I think. I do hope I'm improving. Kind of dull, kind of vague. Blegh.

Advice? Mojo enhancers? _Something?_


	7. Chapter 6

I think I've gotten her back, guys.

My muse that is.

It took a lot of Earl Grey tea, a lot of Imogen Heap and a new pair of converse. _ (Don't judge!)

I'm having some kind of artist overload here because I started painting canvas bags to sell on Etsy. I might post a link in my profile. I feel GREAT.

Anyhoo, this chapter is dedicated to RizzleRazzle (Or are you Veomo now?) for all the serious loving this reader gave me. I'm guessing it's a she by the profile pic, if not, please correct me. :D Raz (Mind if I call you Raz?) was a first time reader for my story and went back and reviewed all of the chapters which usually first timers to a kinda established story don't. Raz was also the first to favorite me AND my story. So she deserves some love.

Thanks RizzleRazzle. C:

**NeoFayt:** Another regular back, hello. Though a new name, lol. I hope these are coming fast enough for you. Who knows? Maybe I'll make a slash version. C: Thanks for the Favorites.

**Gravity Fair:** I laughed my arse off at your last review. I imagined this purple pac man thing om nom noming my leg saying 'WRITE STORY NOW. FEEL BETTER. WRITE. TYPE. CREATE. FEED MEEE!'

**DreamingStorm:** I'm glad it made you laugh. This chapter will have some darker parts but I'll try to keep up with humor too.

**Kelly:** Yes, the ninja button does in fact work. ;D I dare you to press it. Do it. DO IT. And I'll have dreams like that too. Let's hope we never do have to save the day 'cause we'll both be sitting there saying, "Um. Why do _I _have to save the day? Can't someone else do it? I'm busy."

**ShadowHex:** I'm glad you're curious. I was hoping to shock everyone. I don't think it worked though. Lol.

**Veomo: **(Or are you Raz? Because I'm pretty sure you're Raz. Same profile pic…Are you Raz? I think you're Raz.) I'm very glad you yayed when you saw an update. ^^ I try not to have filler chapters because when I read fillers in a fanfic I _hated _it. Felt like wasted time. I'm glad I'm achieving my goal of staying on track. I agree. Poor Warren. And you'll just have to wait and see if Ami really hates Amelia. ;D I don't know if Emily will be a good friend or not yet. I never developed her in my plot line; she kind of just pushed her way into a more main role. Little bugger. Maybe I'll bring her into the story.

**Coloring books:** Thank ya thank ya. Come back for more.

**Gravity Fair:** Much thanks. I like details, so I tend to throw a lot in there. Even little things I'll give details to because usually everything has _some _kind of purpose in my story. Except for the ninjas a few chapters back. They had no purpose. xD

**doodaadee**: As for YOU, the one with all the please's, will you please please please keep coming back to read more? :D 'Cause I really hope you do.

**mandya1313:** Much thanks. C:

**FlyingSolo365**: I valued your sanity so I updated. :D

Thank you all for your reviews! I greatly appreciate them! Thanks for the favorites too! :D

Songs of the chapter that made me all giddy and thus hyper and thus created quicker update is Untouched by The Veronicas, Comptine d'un Autre Été by Yann Tiersen, What Else is There by Röyksopp. 

I apologize for the lengthy author's note. ^^;

From now on, if I get a lot of reviews on a chapter and I think my responses take up too much room at the beginning, I'll limit it to answering reviewers who had questions. I'll try not to do this though because I think you guys deserve replies. Or I'll probably shorten my responses. Whatever.

I don't own SkyHigh. Too bad, so sad.

ON WITH THE STORY!

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Jaden shouldered his way through the throng of people crowding the entrance of the school. He kept his hands firmly in his pockets, grumbling as students rammed into him, and satisfying himself by knocking them back hard with his shoulders. He liked to call those people who shoved him out of the way a certain title, how to say it? Oh yes, he liked to call them rudesonsofbitches. This particular breed of people, rudesonsofbitches, were people who seemed to be in a perfectly good mood, having a perfectly fine day, yet they shoved and pushed as if their life depended on it. This might be an excuse if they were, say, trying to escape from a stampede of wildebeests. But no. They just slammed you out of the way because they could. However, Jaden had long ago been introduced to rudesonsofbitches in New York. And he had learned a few tricks to counteract their stupidity. He was especially good at placing his feet so that excessively rough passerby would stumble over his outstretched legs as punishment. He had to smother a smile as he tripped one particular person, Will, as he turned away from his locker next to Layla's. Stronghold never suspected a thing**. **

'_**Humph. That's what he gets for calling me a jerk. It's not my fault that I'm a pretty boy.'**_ At that thought, Jaden deflated.

'_**Pretty boy? Maaaan. I don't want to be a pretty boy. Who wants to be a pretty boy? Geez. Pretty boys are pansies. Nevertheless, I'm apparently a gay, pretty boy now. OH SHIT.'**_

A look of horror plastered itself across his face**. "Oh maaaan. I'm jailbait. That's what I am. Jailbait." **

"**And why are you jailbait?"** said from someone behind him.

Jaden whipped around, face to face with the LAST person he wanted to see. Warren Peace. And why couldn't his parents have named him after a better book, like, When You Give A Mouse A Cookie, 'cause frankly, War and Peace kind of sucked. Or something like..Mike Hunt.

Jaden burst into giggles. Warren glowered at him.

"**And what's so funny, jailbait?"** Jaden's giggles ceased instantly.

"**Don't call me that! I'm not jailbait!"** he gasped, dismayed.

"**You're the one that called yourself jailbait!"** Warren shot back.

"**I did not!"**

"**Yes you did!"**

"**Well, I didn't mean it like that!"**

Warren's left brow disappeared into his hair, his mouth twisting into a smirk.

"**Dude, how many ways can the term jailbait possibly be used?"** Warren asked, giving Jaden an inquiring look. Jaden's expression suddenly became serious as he pondered the question. Warren's smirk became an incredulous grin.

"**You're not seriously thinking about it are you?"** The pyrokinetic chuckled. Jaden cursed and glared daggers at the boy.

"**I was thank you very much, until you derailed my train of thought so rudely."**

"**My apologies, jailbait."**

"**Stop calling me that!"** Jaden whined, **"Why am I even talking to you?" **

"**Because I'm so charming,"** Warren promptly replied, a devilish smile on his lips.

"**You're so weird. You glare at me on the bus, and then you flirt with me. What is **_**wrong **_**with you?" **Jaden sighed, before clamping a hand over his mouth. He did NOT just say flirt. Did he just say flirt? Shit, he totally just said flirt. _**'Why, girl, WHY? IDIOT.'**_ Warren's grin was instantly replaced with a blank look.

"**Did you just say I was flirting with you? And you're calling me weird? You're the freak." **He laughed, throwing his head back_**. 'He thought I was flirting with him? Oh, that's rich. Why would he even consider that? Oh my god. He must be- he must be queer.'**_ Warren's face took on a panicky expression. _**'What if he…what if he thinks I like him? Great. Just great. I'm gonna have some homo following me around.'**_ Jaden stuck up a leg and replied with a kick to the knee.** "OW! You little-!"**

"**You little what, Mr. Peace?"** The two boys turned to see Principal Powers coming their way.

'_**Aw hell,'**_ Jaden sighed mentally_**. 'Hope she didn't see that kick.'**_

"**And Mr. Hart, mind telling me why you just kicked Mr. Peace?" **Powers said, turning her knowing gaze to the ebony haired boy.

'_**Fuck.'**_ **"Just checking his reflexes, ma'am,"** he answered, flashing a smile.

"**Likely story. Hart, in my office, Peace get to class. The bell is about to ring." **

Warren nodded submissively and scurried away from the scene.

'_**Well,'**_ Jaden thought, _**'There IS someone he listens to around here. Interesting.'**_ He followed the principal into the office, tossing his backpack into one of the two seats facing Principal Powers's desk. He plopped himself into the other, instinctively crossing his arms over his chest as he did so. Powers strolled behind her desk and took her time shuffling papers into an organized manner before seating herself. She leaned back in her leather revolving office chair and turned her attention to the small young man in front of her.

"**Jaden. Dr. Spex came to me after school yesterday to discuss your…condition. You didn't tell me that you collapsed if you saw fire." **

Jaden gave Powers a fleeting glance and focused on some invisible spot located just to the left of her head. Silence enveloped them for a moment before Jaden took a deep breath and released it as a slow sigh.

"**Honestly, Principal Powers, I didn't know that I did either. I'm guessing she told you about what happened to my brother as well?"** Powers nodded in reply. **"I hadn't seen fire since then."** Powers leaned forward, her fingers lacing together on her desk. Jaden's gaze remained firmly on that invisible spot. This wasn't something he wanted to discuss. It wasn't normal, passing out from seeing fire. He didn't want to know what could be wrong with him. Probably going crazy. Like the rest of his family. He scoffed. That would be a fitting development.

"**Well, Dr. Spex has some ideas as to what it could be but she'll have to keep a closer eye on you. She might need to run some tests, expose you to fire again maybe. Would you be okay with that?"**

Jaden's eyes suddenly swiveled and locked Powers in his stare.

"**Not really, no."**

"**But it could help you."**

Jaden sighed, putting a hand up to cover his face. He didn't want to have someone examining him as he screamed and fainted. It's just all too weird. He could get over it on his own. He could, no, he would. He just had to stay away from Warren during P.E_**. 'Or you could just stay away from Warren for good,'**_ a little voice whispered in the back of his mind. It was right. That probably would be for the best. Even though Jaden's spirit deflated a bit at the idea. All they ever did was argue. But it was more normalcy than he has had in the last week. Warren pissed him off, yes. And he hated the pyrokinetic basically, yes. But…Warren seemed to notice things others hadn't caught onto yet.

Jaden gasped and abruptly stood up. Principal Powers was startled by his sudden movement.

"**Jaden?"** she asked, **"What is it?"**

Jaden glanced at the woman who was now standing too.

"**It's, it's nothing. I don't want to be examined,"** he said, picking up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. He wasn't sticking around to discuss this any further. The notebooks inside it made the bag weigh heavily against the boy's back; rubbing the burns and making him wince. Powers nodded, almost sadly.

"**Will you think about it at least?"** Jaden shrugged. Powers nodded again. **"It's all I ask, Jaden. Just think about it. Also, I notice you're not wearing gloves today?"**

'_**That's right. I was heading here in the first place for gloves.'**_** "Um, yeah,"** he replied, **"I lost mine. I was hoping you had another pair?" **The woman was silent as she bent and opened a lower desk drawer, retrieving a pair of gray wool mittens. She handed them to the boy, holding onto them as he tried to remove them from her grasp. Her gaze intensified as Jaden glanced up at her with a question in his eyes.

"**Seriously, Jaden,"** she whispered, **"Think about it."** Jaden turned his look elsewhere, not wanting to meet her eyes.

"**Okay,"** he mumbled, snatching the gloves and turning away. He could feel her stare, even as he closed the office door behind him, cutting off her view completely. He pulled on the gloves, stretching his fingers and examining the material. _**'Why does she want me examined so badly? What's in it for her?' **_A light bulb went off in Jaden's head. _**'Of course. She's like every other person I've met. My power, psh. She thinks there's something wrong with me and she thinks some examinations might cure me. Whatever. She'll find out soon enough, that my curse has no cure.' **_His mind flicked to earlier realizations, particularly the one that had made him stand up so abruptly in Powers' office. Warren noticed things others didn't and that meant, that he could notice that there was something a little off about Jaden. Maybe the fact, that Jaden was of the female gender. Or maybe that his 'superior combatant skill' wasn't his _real _power. Yes, the voice was right. _**'I have to stay away from him.'**_

He turned the corner and arrived at his first class, the first of several he had missed yesterday. Countering Villainy. _**'And I'm not even late yet. Not until the late bell**_- His thoughts were interrupted as a loud chime filled the school with its sound- _**rings. Damn.' **_

He scurried to enter the classroom before the teacher started taking roll but crashed into a large obstacle in the doorway. Jaden glanced up as he was thrown backward into the hallway from the force of the collision. The obstacle turned around and revealed itself as…the fatty from the morning before. Jaden groaned and stood up to dust himself off. Fatty smirked when he saw who had run into him.

"**Well, who do we have here? The fresh meat from yesterday. Hello, fresh meat,"** he said, leering down at Jaden. **"Hey, Lash! Come and take a look at who just shoved me,"** Fatty called over his shoulder.

'_**Oh, god. Lash, that stretchy guy, he was the one I punched wasn't he? Crap,'**_ Jaden thought while he returned Fatty's sneer with a menacing glare of his own.

"**Who? Who shoved you, Speed?"** a tall, lanky male asked, coming to stand behind Speed to peer over his shoulder.

"**It's the little one who punched you yesterday, Lash."** Lash's inquisitive look turned into and expression of unadulterated rage.

"**Oh it is?"** he replied, stepping around Speed to lean down and glare at Jaden. **"Hello, little boy. Are you lost? Or did you just want to come and try to hit me again?"**

Jaden scowled, hitching his backpack up a little higher on his shoulder.

"**Neither,"** he answered, his brows furrowed, **"I'm trying to get to class."**

Lash's glare turned slightly curious as he stood, towering over the boy.

"**Oh, really? And what class would that be?"**

"**Countering Villainy."** Lash and Speed exchanged a look and immediately burst into laughter. Wiping tears from his eyes, Lash shot Jaden a mocking glance.

"**Right. Of course it is. Countering Villainy is an elective course and electives are only offered to juniors and seniors." **The two began laughing again, Lash leaning on Speed's shoulder to support himself.

"**I'm a junior,"** Jaden growled, getting slightly irritated by their laughter. Lash and Speed's chuckles ended abruptly as Lash looked down at Jaden again. An up and down look, evaluating him. His face was completely disbelieving as he said, **"You're kidding, right?"**

Jaden's scowl turned into a look of complete disgust as he shoved at Lash.

"**No, I'm not; now get the fuck out of my way." **Lash pushed him back into the hallway.

"**Oh, no you don't kid. I don't know who you think you are but you're on my turf now. It's my turn to hit **_**you**_**,"** he said with a sneer, cracking his knuckles as he stepped out into the hallway to face Jaden. Jaden's eyes closed, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He slowly opened them, a spark in his eyes and a smirk replacing the scowl.

"**Do your worst,"** he said.

"**Oh I will,"** snarled Lash, rearing his arm back. As his fist came flying back, aiming for Jaden's face, Jaden dropped to the tiled floor into a crouch. He slid between Lash's outstretched legs, tripping him as he did so. Speed bent over in an attempt to grab him but Jaden had anticipated that. The boy leapt into the air over Speed's stooped form and hurled himself into the classroom. He ended up in a tangled heap on the ground, but hey, he hadn't gotten hit. He shot to his feet and righted his twisted his hoodie back to its proper place. Glancing up, he realized the entirety of the classroom staring at him in bewilderment. The teacher, a tall, bald, scruffy bearded Asian man with questionable hygiene habits, gawked at him.

"**Uh, sorry I'm late. They were blocking my entrance,"** he said, motioning to the two now trudging in the door. A glimpse of the ID badge hanging around his neck told Jaden that his name was Mr. Sano Aku. The man closed his gaping mouth and scrutinized Jaden.

"**Jaden Hart, I presume?"**

"**Yes, sir."**

"**You're late."**

Jaden perked a brow. **"Um, I know. Sorry about that. I couldn't get through the doorway,"** he said, guessing that perhaps Mr. Aku had not heard his explanation the first time.

"**You've already said that, foolish boy. You get lunch detention since you've decided to lie to me as to why you were late."** Jaden gaped at him.

"**But I'm not lying! Fatso and Stretchy were trying to start a fight with me in the hallway! Didn't you see any of it?"** Aku narrowed his eyes at Jaden, his mouth forming a thin, straight line.

"**Two lunch detentions for lying even more and for name calling."**

"**But I'm not lyi-"** Jaden's response was hastily cut off. His mouth. He couldn't talk. It was as if his lips had zipped themselves shut.

"**Stop. Lying. And take a **_**seat, **_**Mr. Hart,"** Mr. Aku said through clenched teeth. A sweat had broken out on his brow as if he was physically exerting himself just ordering Jaden around.

'_**Man, I must've made him angry. AND WHY CAN'T I TALK?' **_

"**Jaden!"** a distinctly female voice called. Jaden swiveled around and saw that Emily Snow was sitting beside the window in the back. There was an empty seat next to her and she was waving to him, a grin on her face. Jaden inwardly sighed, scurrying to the back and to the unoccupied desk. He settled himself and turned to look at her.

"**What is that guy's problem?"** he hissed to her. Jaden put a hand up to his lips. **"Hey, I can talk again."** Emily nodded.

"**Mr. Aku's power is that he can control people's bodies. He often uses it to shut up incessant chatterers up or to make us sit down. But it's odd…when he seals someone's lips, they usually stay sealed for the entire class period."** She gave Jaden a wondering look before continuing**, "And Lash and Speed are his favorite students."**

"**That's explains it. I hate it when teachers play favorites. So unfair," **he sighed. He threw a glare to the front where Aku was resting against his desk. Seriously. Why did he look so exhausted? Jaden gave the entire room a sweeping look, discovering that Speed and Lash sat on the opposite side of the classroom. _**'Good.'**_ He turned his focus back to Emily who was watching him curiously. **"Now that I think about it, why are **_**they **_**his favorites? They're idiots." **

Emily blinked, crossing her legs and flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

"**Because he thinks that they'll be the best villains."**

Wait. What.

"**And he **_**likes **_**them because of that?"**

"**Well, yeah. That IS everyone's goal in here. To be the best villain."** Jaden's eyes widened.

"**But… I thought this was a hero school?"** he said, the statement coming out as more of a question. Emily blinked again and Jaden realized that it was something she did as if she was confused by his questions.

"**Well, yeah. But that doesn't mean we're all going to be good. Countering Villainy is usually a class aspiring villains elect to take."**

"**But it's called **_**Countering Villainy. **_**Why would villains take it?"**

"**Because it's taught by the only former villain in the school. He takes it easy on us."**

Jaden stared dumbly at her. How could they have a former villain teaching this class? Why why why? This didn't make any sense. AT ALL. And aspiring villains took the class because it was an easy A…he smacked a palm to his forehead.

"**Of course I happen to choose the class of villains. It's just in my blood. Ugh,"** he mumbled, slumping down onto his desktop. **"Story of my life."**

"**What was that?"** Emily asked, **"I couldn't hear you."** Jaden's head shot up, a fake grin pasted on his face.

"**Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. So, um, you want to be a villain?" **Emily gave him a small smile. A small, sad smile.

"**No, not really. But my mom and dad were villains and it's expected of me."** Jaden raised her brows, a frown coming onto her face.

"**Then do the unexpected,"** he said, his mouth twitching ever so slightly. **"I do the unexpected all the time."** _**'Like run away from a villain school, change my name and power, pose as a boy, live in a tree house, and attend a hero school.'**_ **"It's quite easy to defy those who plan out your life for you, actually."** Emily cocked her head to the side.

"**Do your parents want you to be a villain too?"**she inquired.

"**Uh, yeah kinda."**

"**Are both your parents villains?"**

"**No, just my dad. My mom was normal."**

"**What are their names?"**

Jaden raised his hands in protest, his nose wrinkling up.

"**Whoa, what's with the twenty questions? I don't wanna talk about them." **

"**Sorry,"** Emily apologized, scooting her desk closer, **"I just thought that maybe our parents might know each other. My mom is the villain Hydra. My dad is the villain Ghost. And it's nice to talk to someone who isn't evil,"** she laughed, a high tinkling laugh. A pleasant giggle that probably made the guys go crazy. Jaden smiled, his head coming to rest on his folded arms.

"**Hydra, she can control water and Ghost…he can turn invisible,"** he stated, leaning in to whisper as Mr. Aku had began a lesson on the board.

"**Yeah! Not many people know them. They're not that powerful." **

"**Do a lot of people with villain parents come here?"** Emily shook her head.

"**No, I don't that many with a villain for a parent. Now that I think about it, I wonder where they **_**do **_**go."**

'_**To Hell's Depths,' **_Jaden thought but instead he said**, "Who knows?"** and twisted to read what was written on the board. 'How to predict when a villain will strike.' _**'I should probably pay attention to this.'**_ He retrieved a notebook and pencil from his back pack. He flipped it open to the first clean, crisp page. He made a movement to write down 'Countering Villainy' at the top of the paper but he was suddenly falling, his butt hitting the floor hard. **"What the-"** He glanced around noticing that his desk had been pulled out from underneath him and it was now resting about five feet away from him. _**'How did that happen?'**_ The class burst into snickers, laughing at their classmate's dismay. Jaden blushed, hopping to his feet.

"**Hart. Is there a problem?"** Mr. Aku asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously on the boy.

"**Yeah my desk…moved,"** he replied dumbly.

"**Stop playing around and get to work, Hart,"** the teacher said, scoffing. Wanting to leap across the desks to pummel the man in the face, Jaden restrained himself, remembering the body control power. The boy sighed and yanked his desk back to its normal place. Emily asked if he was okay and Jaden gave her a curt nod. He sat down gingerly, holding onto the piece of furniture firmly. He opened the notebook when his desk slid away from underneath him once again. He didn't fall this time, merely rolled out of the seat and onto his feet. He saw what was happening now. Stupid Lash was stretching his arms around the others and had been the one to move it. He had seen the quickly retreating black and white striped sleeve. He growled angrily.

"**You!"** he accused, pointing at the elastic boy. **"Stop moving my desk!"**

"**HART, SIT DOWN THIS INSTANT," **Mr. Aku commanded. Jaden threw him a defiant stare.

"**NO I WILL NOT,"** he roared back. **"He keeps moving my desk!"** Mr. Aku's glowered at him. He turned to Lash.

"**Lash, is this true?"** he asked the boy.

Lash was the portrait of innocence as he replied sweetly back, **"No, sir, I would never do such a thing." **Aku swiveled back to face Jaden.

"**There you go, Hart. Problem solved, Lash is not disturbing your desk. Stop being irrational,"** he stated, spinning back to board. Jaden's face drained of color. The right side of his mouth twitched fiercely.

"**You're the irrational one, you pompous ass," **he mumbled. The teacher pivoted around furiously, his own complexion a reddish purple.

"**WHAT DID YOU SAY?" **

"**I SAID, YOU ARE THE IRRATIONAL ONE YOU POMPOUS ASS,"** Jaden replied, stomping forward before an invisible force stopped him in his tracks. _**'His power…this is it.'**_ He couldn't move, frozen to the spot. He opened his mouth to scream an objection to his paralysis but realized that his lips were also in a stationary state. _**'This is ridiculous!' **_

A sudden overwhelming feeling came over him, this urge to simply turn around and sit. It took everything he had to remain upright, glaring furiously at Mr. Aku. While he couldn't speak his mind, he was sure his thoughts were projected loud and clear through his fierce gaze. And then suddenly, this wave of dizziness washed through him. Paralyzed or not, Jaden collapsed to the ground. He lapsed into a round of violent coughing, realizing that while he had remained immobile, so had his lungs. He sucked in breath after breath as Emily hurried over to help him from the floor. He saw a flurry of movement out of his peripheral vision and realized that his teacher had crumpled to the floor as well and several students had rushed to his aide. Emily was the only one who had bothered to check Jaden.

"**What the hell was that?"** she hissed to him, tugging him up by his elbows. Jaden shook his head numbly.

"**I don't know,"** he murmured, contemplating the situation. He had no idea whatsoever. He slouched back into his seat, a sheen of sweat had broken out on his own forehead now, to match Mr. Aku's own shiny, damp, head. Jaden was suddenly exhausted and he couldn't figure out why. He hadn't even done anything! So Question One: Why was he freaking worn out all of a sudden?  
His eyes flicked to the tall teacher at the front, leaning against the also considerably lengthy Lash. They were both glaring at him. He _did _just have some kind of intense facedown with Mr. Aku. And the only thing that he could think of that would tire him out was the fact that he had to stand his ground against Aku's power. Perhaps that required a considerable amount of energy. Which brings us to Question Two:

Where had all that energy come from?

Judging by Aku's own fatigued state, Jaden didn't think that students defied him that often.

If they could even defy him at all.

And now Question Three:

How could Jaden do it?

Well, he hadn't exactly won the fight. Aku did have him paralyzed with sealed lips. BUT. He hadn't succeeded in controlling Jaden's body in order to make him sit down. The skirmish had been a draw.

And why was Jaden considering this some kind of battle? It wasn't like he was in a war. His eyes flitted back to the front of the classroom, his narrowed gaze locking with that of Mr. Aku's scowl. Or maybe he was.

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Malicia Sin sighed, a disappointed, extremely frustrated, about to strangle someone, kind of sigh. Her steely stare focused on the three boys standing before her desk.

"**What do you mean you can't **_**find **_**them?"** she hissed to them, her long, black nails tapping impatiently on the desktop.

The tallest one came forward, his bald head gleaming in the dim light.

"**We can't find them. They vanished into thin air. We checked their apartment and it doesn't look like they've packed up and left or anything."** Heft shrugged.

"**No one just vanishes into thin air. And you say they disappeared after this little confrontation between Aiden and Amelia at what was it? Some ball?"**

"**Yeah. We'd gone there 'cause Aiden found out she was dating a mundie. We went there to take care of him,"** Heft mumbled.

"**And did you take care of him?"** Malicia asked, her mouth quirking up into and evil grin. Heft shook his head.

"**He was gone when we woke up,"** he said, looking away guiltily. Sin's smile disappeared instantly.

"**When you **_**woke **_**up?"** she inquired, incredulous.

"**Amelia is…really kind of terrifying when she's angry,"** he explained, glancing at the scrawny boy with windblown hair that was standing to his right. **"But Gage and I fought her. She knocked us unconscious. She's better than she lets on."**

"**I don't see how Amelia could be terrifying. Without her power, she's a weak little twerp. And what do you mean just you and Gage fought her?"** her gaze flicked to the young man standing to Heft's left. The boy was sweating profusely.

"**Roen ran away,"** Heft bluntly stated. Malicia's fingers curled into a tight fist.

"**You **_**ran **_**away?"** she growled.

"**A-amelia was really s-strong. I d-didn't know what t-to do. I'd never seen her f-fight so w-well before,"** Roen stuttered, wiping the back of his hand across his brow.

"**Amelia is the weakest villain I have ever come across in my school! Weaker than the minions maybe. She always did her work, never back talked, and was less than satisfactory in the evil mastermind department. She stumbled through obstacle courses, respected her teachers, and was **_**nice. **_**The girl was **_**nice**_** to **_**everyone.**_** If that's not the most ridiculous villain I've ever heard of then I'm Genny Powers!"**

Heft cocked a brow. **"Who's Genny Powers?"**

Malicia waved a hand at him, turning her chair so that her back was to them. **"No one,"** she sighed, **"Amelia is weak. But she'll be the greatest villain ever."** A smirk formed itself on her lips before a groan escaped them. She covered her face with her hands. **"He will not be happy to hear I've lost her."**

"**Who won't be happy?"** Heft inquired. Sin whirled around in her chair, throwing the lot of them a menacing look.

"**Why are you boys still here? Get out!"**

"**But you didn't tell us what to do…"**

"**God. You three really were nothing without Aiden. Find that boy! The one Amelia was dating. And bring him to me. I have some questions for him."**

"**Um…" **

"**What? Is there something else?"**

"**There was an old warehouse building Aiden would sometimes go to like meditate and stuff."**

"**What about it?"**

"**It burned to the ground the night of their fight."** A look of terror came across her face. She gasped and a hand went to her mouth.

"**No. Oh no. He warned me about this…Oh no. Find out everything you can! Quickly!"** She shooed them out of her office, her fingers reaching for the phone as soon as she had closed the door behind them. She punched in a few numbers and stood, waiting. She was too tense and nervous to relax enough to sit down now. She was too scared…for her life.

"**Yes, I need to be put through to Lyptica Prison….Yes, Hi, Joey. It's Malicia Sin. I need to talk to prisoner 45JP8, Malik Hart...and Joey? You'll take of the recordings? Yes. Now there's a good boy." **

She paused, waiting.

"**Hello?"** a deep male voice asked from the other end. **"Malicia?"**

"**Yes, sir, it's me. There's a bit of a problem…Amelia and Aiden…they've disappeared and there was a fire and they're finding out the details now and I'm not-"**

Malik cut off her rambling with a chuckle.

"**Oh, stop fretting. I already know."**

"**But..how?"**

Another rumble of laughter.

"**I'm Master Mentalist remember?"** He chuckled again. **"They're both alive. Though I am still blind to where they are. It seems Aiden has somehow broken my hold on him. I told you he was planning something. Interesting development there. And Amelia. Well Amelia has certainly gone far. She's run away alone, I know that. I still have my grip on her, no matter how small it may be."**

"**You've broken down Ami's mental defenses?"** There was a silence on his end. An angry silence.

"**Unfortunately, no. But I have worked my way in all the same."**

"**How?"**

"**She's scared. Really scared,"** there was a pause and Malicia could almost imagine him smirking as he said, **"And her fear is allowing me in. Nightmares. They're currently the only part of her mind I can access and control but…it won't be long. It won't be long at all until I've got her. And then we'll find her and she'll do what she was born to do. Until then, I need you to start getting everything ready."**

"**So soon? But we haven't even gotten you out of prison yet!"**

"**Oh, don't worry. I'll be out soon enough. Ami Saw it all happening like this. It's supposed to be this way."**

"**Yes, sir. Very well, sir."**

Malik Hart smiled and placed the phone back onto it's receiver. He glanced to his right, where Joey Sin, Malicia Sin's unpowered son was seated, recording the call like law proclaimed. However, Joey would dispose of these recordings as soon as he exited the room. Malik nodded to him and stood as the two guards by the door grabbed either elbow and led him down the hall leading to the cells. The prison was constructed of the same material and technology that SkyHigh's detention room was, making its occupants practically mundane. As the tall, slender man passed one particular cell, he paused glancing at the figure lying on the cot inside.

"**Baron,"** he called, and the man raised himself into a sitting position. Malik grinned at the dark haired hulk of a man. **"Guess what I just got a call about."**

"**What?"**

"**Banana pudding."** The man's eyes widened, deciphering his words. A psychotic grin spread across his lips.

"**I love banana pudding,"** he said, chuckling. Malik smiled, a chuckle bubbling up in his own throat.

"**Me too. Can't wait until we go get some."** The guards looked at the two conversing prisoners and then each other.

**"They're psycho,"** Guard 1 said to Guard 2.

**"I'd go crazy in this place too,"** Guard 2 replied. They shoved Malik forward, continuing to his cell at the end of the hall. The two pushed him into the enclosure, securing the door firmly behind him. If they had stuck around, they would have witnessed the normally sullen man break into maniacal laughter.

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**ATTENTION READERS.**

Do not skip over, as this pertains to you.

I've gotten a few complaints about the bold dialogue thing. So question;

Do you want me to go back to the way it was or stay that same?

I was doing it because I thought it would help you keep track of conversations more easily better but if it bugs you, I'll go back to the way it was.

So tell me what you want. C:

Thanks for reading. So tell me, am I getting better? Worse? Tell me what to improve! Questions, comments?


	8. Chapter 7

Okay, so I just kinda threw my plot out the window. I'm still keeping the major points that _need _to happen but otherwise, my muse overload kinda caused my story to get out of control. Characters with sudden vital purpose to the story are just creating themselves and pushing themselves in. It's weird. It's just all…kablooey. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Anyway, cheers to plot bunnies.

Currently on; Ginger Tea.

Songs of the chapter; Shooting Star by Air Traffic, Hide and Seek 2 by Imogen Heap, and Don't Stop by Innerpartysystem.

I don't own SkyHigh. Hell, I don't even own this story anymore, the little people having a rave in my brain do. D:

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Jaden exhaled a breath he had been holding for quite awhile. He smiled gently at Emily, silently thanking her as she passed him in the hallway. First period class had just been dismissed and the halls were filled with students scurrying to their second period classes.

His mind wandered back to the previous hour and a half of his life, analyzing all that has passed. After his stare down with Mr. Aku, Jaden had become quite submissive, as if a little bit of his spirit had been stolen along with his energy. He had opted to lay his head down on his desk, watching quietly as his teacher stumbled through the rest of his lesson, taking many breaks to rest himself as well. He didn't reprimand Jaden when the boy dozed off briefly.

Jaden beamed when he remembered what had happened when he was awoken by the sliding motion of his desk.

_Jaden jerked awake, the slight movement beneath him disturbing his slumber. Lash once again had wrapped his hand around the leg of Jaden's seat. Jaden was about to shift, in attempt to catch the boy's arm but a sudden cracking noise halted him in his tracks. Jaden glanced down to see Lash's arm frozen to the chair's leg, a thick layer of ice encasing his hand and wrist. Lash was struggling angrily on the other side of the room, trying to retract his arm._

'**Who could have done that…?'**_ Jaden wondered, glancing at the students sitting around him. He caught Emily smiling softly at him and she nodded, acknowledging that she had been the one to do it. Jaden nodded in return and raised his hand. Aku's eyes narrowed at him but he was too tired to put up a fight. _

"_**Yes, Mr. Hart?"**__ Aku asked, almost sounding depressed. Jaden swept his arm to motion to the hand attached to his desk. _

"_**Caught him,"**__ he answered, quietly. Aku sighed and glanced at Lash, who was now a furious shade of red. Aku couldn't ignore straight out evidence._

"_**Lash, you have lunch detention,"**__ he said, turning to give Emily a withering glare, __**"And if you would be so kind as to release him, Ms. Snow?"**_

"_**It would be my pleasure,"**__ she said, grinning, and waving her hand at the mini iceberg enclosed around Lash's hand. The ice melted, leaving a small puddle at the base of Jaden's desk. Jaden gave her one more grateful glance before resting his head on his folded arms again. He returned to his dozing state, a sleep light enough to not dream but not deep enough to actually rest him._

He traipsed through the crowded hall, heading in the direction that Emily had pointed him in just moments before. His second class was the elective Teamwork Tactics and he dearly hoped it wouldn't be as disastrous as his previous course. He scanned the small black plaques next to each classroom's entrance, looking for the one that portrayed the name of his teacher. A Ms. Celia Cerebralan. What a mouthful. Ah! He had discovered the correct classroom, a large almost gym like room at the end of the north hallway. He slowly entered, half expecting Fatty and Stretchy to leap at him from behind the door. No such luck.

He scanned the room, briefly, just to check. Those two were going to make him paranoid. Jaden then proceeded to stroll over to who appeared to be the teacher. It was a woman with salt and pepper hair, rummaging through a cabinet in the corner. Judging by her slim backside, Jaden assumed she was elderly but fit. Imagine how startled he was when she turned and had the face of a thirty year old. Jaden couldn't help but gape. She smiled.

"**You thought I was some old lady didn't you? I get that a lot," **she said, taking the schedule he held in his hand. She glanced at it and handed it back, strolling to a dark and ornately carved desk placed at the front of the room. **"Jaden Hart, huh? I've heard a lot about you these last few days."** Jaden paused long enough in his gawking to stutter a **"Y-you have?" **She nodded, her finger scrolling down some kind of list she had on her desktop.

"**Well, accidentally of course. Ah! Here you are. 'Combatant skills'. Interesting,"** she mused, glancing up at the boy. She scrutinized him, shrugged, and stuck out her hand.

"**Nice to meet you, I'm Celia Cerebralan. Call me Celia. Ms. Cerebralan sounds so old and imposing,"** she said. Jaden swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded, shaking her hand reluctantly. She had a firm grasp. The woman smiled again. She sure was a happy person. She put a hand on his shoulder and Jaden had to resist the urge to grab her wrist and throw her over his head. Celia steered him to the back, where several students were already seated on a large circular rug on the floor. There were no desks that Jaden could see, except for Celia's. _**'What kind of class is this? Sitting on the rug makes me feel like a kindergartener. Celia **_**is**_** kind of odd…what was with that 'accidentally of course' statement? How do you accidentally hear things?'**_ He shrugged his back pack from his shoulder and placed in the pile with the others' bags. He then settled into an Indian-style position on the opposite side of the rug, away from the students sitting in an arc on the other side. His gaze remained on the door, watching and waiting for Lash and Speed to appear and announce that they had this class too. Wouldn't that just be spiffy? Jaden had started to relax as he realized the late bell was about to ring and that the majority of the class was already here. He didn't know any of them and was surprised by this fact. What about Layla and company? He hadn't seen any of them on this side of the school. Perhaps they were in a different grade?

The late bell rang, sending reverberations through Jaden's bones. He sighed in a happy release. That is, until Warren Peace walked in the door.

Warren hurried to seat himself on the carpet, tossing his bag into the pile. His eyes widened at the sight of Jaden and Jaden guessed that Warren had assumed he was younger like Lash and Speed had. Jaden turned away from his questioning gaze, instead focusing on Celia as she approached the circle of students. A girl and boy scooted away from each other, allowing Celia to enter and immediately closed the gap after her, as if the circle formation was vital to the lesson. Jaden mentally shrugged. Maybe it was. Celia didn't sit like her students but chose to stand, slowly revolving as she spoke so that all of her pupils could see her.

"**Alright class, as you can see, we have a new student today, Jaden Hart,"** she made a sweeping hand movement towards him. **"Please make him feel welcome."** His classmates nodded and smiled, a few even waved. It was slightly unsettling. At Hell, when the new kid was introduced, it wasn't friendly greetings they offered them. It was usually a race to see who could come up with the most degrading nickname derived out of their given name. This was very unfortunate for one particular freshman last year, Drew DeLocke. He was immediately dubbed, Drew Peacock. But that soon ceased when Drew revealed that his power was shape shifting others. He could make a person turn into something else, albeit very briefly. The ones that had first bullied him had to suffer through an agonizing minute of being an ant. It probably wasn't brief enough for them while they feared being stomped on.

Jaden gave the others a nod and a wave. Not a smile though. Just enough to make him seem friendly, but not necessarily approachable. Celia turned away from him and clasped her hands together.

"**Okay, class. You remember what we discussed yesterday; let's review before we start, so Jaden can understand what's happening,"** she said, hands immediately shooting up after she had finished the statement. She nodded to one particular student, a small, pint sized girl. _**'About my own size,'**_ Jaden silently mused. The girl had electric yellow hair that stuck up around her head in frizzy curls and was pale to the point that she was almost luminescent.

"**Celia's power is to create illusions,"** she said, glancing at Jaden, then back to the teacher. Celia nodded encouragingly.** "Her illusions aren't tricks of the eye, they don't just **_**appear **_**there, they **_**are **_**there," **she finished, looking to Celia for approval. The woman nodded again and turned to another student, this time a boy. He had a greenish tint to his skin and his hair was a dark blue black color. Jaden wondered briefly if he was ill and if it was causing that sickly looking hue.

"**She's going to create some illusions today and we'll be broken into pairs. We have to get through the illusions together, whatever they may be. No leaving your partner behind,"** he declared matter of fact, giving a look to Jaden that seemed to say 'I dare you to question my authority.' Jaden wasn't impressed. Celia turned and pointed at another student obstructed from Jaden's view by Celia herself.

"**We'll be paired, hero with sidekick, and we have to use our powers in whatever way we see fit to get through the illusions. Work smart, not hard,"** he stated, adding onto green boy's explanation. By the gruff, slightly familiar voice that had said it, Jaden guessed it was Warren.

"**Very good, Warren," **she said, spinning to smile at the rest of the students, **"And very good class." **Celia settled her gaze on Jaden. **"Work smart not hard is our motto, Jaden,"** she explained, **"It means to focus on the effectiveness of a particular plan, not necessarily the complexity of it. I want you to learn how to think quick and fast and how to take out your enemy with as little effort possible on your part. Our objective is to accomplish our goal, not to have some kind of showy battle for two hours."** She spun again, **"You'll be paired with Via for today,"** she motioned to the yellow haired girl that had spoken earlier. "**It's a good thing you showed up; we didn't have enough sidekicks to go around. What kind of class would Teamwork Tactics be if you weren't part of a team?"** she giggled and exited the circle.

Jaden inwardly flinched at the phrase 'we didn't have enough sidekicks to go around.' The thought that he was some kind of object, or a weapon to use in a fight wanted to make him throw up. He hated to be treated as something of little worth. He wasn't worthless, he had a purpose.

He just hadn't found it yet. A scowl settled on his face. When Celia had exited the circle, the group stood as a whole, a startled Jaden rising a little late. How did they do that? He'd have to synch himself with them quick because judging by the some of the glares he was receiving, especially green boy's look of hatred, not standing up together was a big no no. The group broke apart into pairs and Jaden realized that they must have chosen partners the previous day. Via wandered over to him, bouncing on her toes excitedly. She reminded him of Layla. Ugh.

"**Hi, I'm Via Stanton,"** she introduced, her voice quiet and soft.

"**I'm Jaden Hart,"** he said. She seemed a little meek so Jaden flashed her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Might as well get along with his partner. Her pale cheeks acquired a nice rose blush. Jaden paled. Perhaps it had been _too_ reassuring.

"**Nice to meet you." **

"**Attention everyone!"** the two turned to face the front, where Celia was now sitting, meditation style, on top of her desk. Jaden cocked a brow. **"We'll begin with the illusion trials now, so line up in alphabetical order using the hero's last name,"** she said. Jaden frowned. How come the heroes were special? Was this what it had been like at Hell? Did the minions feel this way? Belittled by teachers and classmates?

Jaden rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Of course it had been; it _was _Hell after all, the worst of the worst. But he had been a villain there, so it had never affected him.

The pairs began to line up and Jaden got to stand behind Warren and another boy with light brown hair that stood up in spikes all over his head. Just peachy.

However, Warren blatantly ignored him. And Jaden just _knew _he was ignoring him. He could feel the disregard rolling off of him in waves. In fact, if Jaden squinted hard enough, he was positive he could see the words, 'I'M IGNORING YOU, I'M IGNORING YOU, I'M IGNORING YOU,' floating in the space around Warren's head. He shrugged. If Warren ignored him, it only made it easier for Jaden to ignore Warren.

Jaden watched as the pairs before Via and him stepped up to some kind of invisible line and entered the illusion that Celia created. Some were of different cities like LA and Paris being overrun with monsters or villains or a combination of the two. Some were natural occurrences like earthquakes and tornadoes. They were real and varied obstacle courses. Some pairs made it through just fine, some had trouble, and some left partners behind to escape the terrifying illusions. Warren and Spiky, Jaden dubbed the boy, entered a snowy wilderness atop a mountain. As soon as they entered the blizzard like scene, Jaden lost sight of them in all the whirling white. But he caught sight of them again when a heat wave washed over him and a loud hissing sound assaulted his ears. He squinted into the snowy landscape, focusing on a dark form about thirty feet in. There was steam swirling around Warren, and he was standing in a puddle. Jaden realized that the boy had melted the snow around him and his feet, making trudging through the snow a bit easier going. There was another form at his feet, a brown spiky thing. It was…it was…A porcupine? Jaden's lips mashed themselves together in a tight smile. He wanted to laugh, really, but that might hurt the kid's feelings. Was there some kind of rule that you could only shape shift into rodents at this school? His smile was quickly replaced with a gaping mouth when the porcupine ambled forward a bit, sniffed the air, curled into a ball, and rolled behind a pine tree. A screech was heard and the porcupine appeared again, a figure shrouded in white, crouching in the snow behind him_**. 'There are enemies hidden…'**_ Jaden thought. The person in white was holding their leg, blood oozing from where quills now protruded from his flesh. The porcupine glanced up at Warren, as if for encouragement. Warren nodded and the pair trudged forward, disappearing once again. They were too far in now for Jaden to see them but every now and then, heat would be expelled from the wintery landscaped along with the hissing sound of snow melting rapidly. Screeches would dot the silence too.

So Spiky could smell the enemies before either could see them. Warren made their path; Spiky would take care of their obstacles. Spiky _protected _Warren, while Warren only assisted him. It seemed like their hero sidekick relationship was reversed. Jaden smiled. So maybe it wasn't as segregated as he had previously thought. The two emerged on the other side of the room, both intact, and Spiky transformed back into a human. The illusion dimmed and shifted, Celia morphing it into something new. It grew sharper again and revealed itself; an exact replica of Manhattan, New York. At least, a small portion of it. Jaden shivered. He briefly glanced at Celia but her eyes were closed, lost in the effort of creating the illusion. **'It's just a coincidence, it's just a coincidence…'** He looked over at Via, nodded, and the two stepped forward onto the street. It seemed so odd to see a deserted New York for that's what it was. The streets and building were devoid of people. When Via and Jaden had gone about two block in, there was a horrible gurgling sound. The two whipped around only to be faced with a 20 foot creature that seemed to be created of sludge and trash. Via took up a powerful stance and directed her palms at the creature. Jaden stood still and watched her, unsure of what he he could do. Via was closing her eyes and concentrating on something, all the while, the monster was getting closer. Jaden glanced fearfully from Via to SludgeBlob SquelchPants. Whatever Via was doing, he wasn't sure she had enough time to do it. The monster needed to be distracted.

And Jaden needed to be the one to do it.

He ran at the monster, leaped onto a nearby car to give him some height, and attempted to give the thing a swift kick to the face. He wasn't even sure if it had a face. But he aimed at the uppermost portion of SludgeBlob's body. Nothing happened.

Well _something _did happen, just not what Jaden had wanted to happen. His foot was stuck. In the thing's face-area-place.  
**"Via!"** he called. The girl opened her eyes to glance at him, gaping as she realized what had happened.

"**Jaden! What are you doing?"** The boy shrugged guiltily.

"**Well, it was getting closer and you seemed kind of busy so I was trying to distract it…"** Via sighed and closed her eyes again.

"**Just hold on, I'll have you out in a minute,"** she said, returning to her almost meditation like pose. She took a breath, swept her arms into the air, repositioned her palms and mother fucking bolts of lightening shot from her hands. Jaden yelped and threw up his arms to shield his face. While the lightening had originally been aimed directly at the SludgeBob's torso-area-place, as it neared the creature and its hostage, the bolts veered slightly up and to the right, just enough to endanger Jaden. Via screamed, Jaden shrieked, and there was a collective gasp from the entire class as they watched in frozen horror. Just in time, Celia opened her eyes and broke her concentration, the illusion fading instantly. Jaden was dropped to the floor and lightening struck the blank wall behind them.

"**Oh my god oh my god oh my god,"** Jaden murmured. It was an odd mantra but it slowly calmed him.

"**Are you alright?"** Via rushed towards him, landing in a heap by his side. Celia coolly walked towards the two, seeming unbothered by the fact that one of her students could have just been a deep fried dish. Jaden was still lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, when Celia crouched next to him, putting a hand to his face. She recoiled as if burned and stared confusedly at him. Jaden shot up, startled by her touch. Perhaps shock was why he had been frightened by her sudden appearance. He _had _almost been electrocuted. He gave her a wide eyed glance and scuttled away on his knees. He suddenly couldn't remember why he was even here or why he had been lying on the ground. Who was the young woman with the old lady hair? Who was the blonde girl crying beside her? His train of thought hadn't just been derailed; it had been picked up by a tornado and thrown two states over. Did I mention that he was almost zapped like that airplane in Castaway? The majority of the people in that plane died you know.

Celia was staring at the scurrying boy, examining him closely, his hair, his face. He was NOT everything he appeared to be. Celia stood and hauled Via up next to her. Jaden mimicked her movements, opting for the 'If you don't know who they are, just copy what they do' option.

"**Jaden,"** Celia said, waving him over, "**Come here. I think you guys need a little break."** The boy nodded slowly and sauntered towards her_**. 'That's right, my name is Jaden,' **_he thought, it all coming back to him, _**'And that's Celia, my teacher and Via my partner and OH MY GOD SHE JUST ALMOST KILLED ME.'**_ The boy froze, glancing fearfully from the still crying girl to Celia. The fear was clear on his face; he was NOT getting any closer. Hell no. Oh _HELL _no. Celia shook her head as if reading his thoughts.

"**It's fine. She's not shooting off any more bolts anytime soon."** Jaden began walking towards her again, his fear abated. He had composed himself, his mind entering a strange tranquil state. Or it might have been the shock kicking in full blast. Whatever it was, he was suddenly grateful for it. It kept him from screaming like a little girl and fleeing the class.

Celia herded them to the other side of the classroom where the ones that had already gone through the course stood. Via was welcomed into another girl's outstretched arms while Jaden was examined with concerned faces.

"**Dude, you okay?"** Spiky asked, patting him on the shoulder. Jaden nodded numbly, turning to watch as Celia seated herself, focused and created the illusion again so that the rest of the teams could continue.

"**Yeah, that was really scary. I thought you were going to be Jaden a la grilled,"** one tan skinned girl said, flipping her caramel colored hair over her shoulder.

"**Jennifer, that's not even a dish,"** said the green hued boy from earlier.

"**I know, stupid, I made it up,"** she sneered, flipping her hair again.

"**No, I mean you didn't even put his name in the place of a real dish. You just threw 'a la' in there to make it sound fancy."**

"**Shut up, Caleb,"** she hissed, spinning away from the small circle of students that had formed itself around Jaden. She wandered over to Via and the other girl. Perhaps she wanted to try her version of 'comforting' on them.

"**But seriously, are you okay?"** Spiky repeated, focusing the conversation back on Jaden's well being. The ebony haired boy nodded again, his gaze reeling back from Celia and to the face of the boy who was speaking. He had golden colored eyes and Jaden thought briefly that he was cute and slightly attractive. If you were into that whole bestiality thing.

"**Spencer, stop asking him. He's hardly even paying attention,"** Caleb said, waving his hand in front of Jaden's face just to prove it. Jaden snatched up and curled his fingers around the boy's wrist, pulling the offending limb out of his personal space.

"**I am **_**too**_** paying attention. Don't do that," **he said releasing Caleb's arm and pushing it away from him. **"It annoys me." **Caleb flushed and a pouty look came onto his face.

"**Well aren't we Mr. Prissy Pants,"** he jeered and stomped off to join Jennifer's group. Jaden had the sneaking suspicion that the two were related.

"**Well aren't we Mr. Prissy Pants,"** Jaden mocked in a falsetto voice, albeit under his breath. But apparently it wasn't under his breath enough because Spencer (aka Spiky) heard him and broke into a grin.

"**Attitude, I approve,"** he said, slapping Jaden on the back. Jaden stumbled forward from the blow. Jaden smiled weakly and removed himself from the increasing circle of people, walking towards the wall. He backed himself against it, slid down into a sitting position, and rested his head between his legs. _**'I think I'm going to be sick,'**_ he inwardly groaned.

For the rest of the class period, he sat there, breathing in and out, slow, deep breaths.

All the while, Warren watched him, glancing from Jaden to Via and back to Jaden again, his mind whirring, thinking, _analyzing_.

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Jaden had been right. He _had _gotten sick He had thrown up right after the dismissal bell for lunch rang. Luckily, he had stayed behind as the class filed out because Celia had requested him to.

"**Jaden, I wanted to discuss something with you. It's about what happened in class today," **she said, a worried look in her eyes. At the mention of the 'incident', Jaden's gut and panic reflexes jumped in, causing him to spew yellow bile onto the floor at Celia's feet. The look of worry was instantly replaced by a look of repulsion.

"**We'll talk later, off to the Spex with you."** She ushered him out of the classroom and while he went in the direction of Dr. Spex, Celia most likely went in the direction of the janitor.

Jaden knocked on the doctor's door once, twice, before poking his head in.

"**Hello? Dr. Spex? It's Jaden…I had a bit of an accident."**

"**Amelia, dear! Come on in."** Jaden gasped and hurtled through the doorway, slamming it quickly behind him.

"**Dr. Spex! The door was open! Don't call me Amelia unless we're in a **_**closed **_**room."**

"**Oh pish posh. No one would have noticed. They would have thought I was talking to someone else."** Jaden sighed and shook his head, throwing up his hands in exasperation.

"**Whatever you say,"** he said, ambling over to take a seat on one of the hospital style beds. Dr. Spex scooted over on her wheeled stool, a clipboard already in hand.

"**So what happened, dear? Did you see fire again?" **Jaden grunted in disagreement.

"**Noooo. I didn't see fire again. I did almost die though."** He flashed Spex a fake smile. Spex's eyes grew large and incredulous.

"**Whaaaat? You almost died? What happened?"** Jaden glanced down at the hands curled into his lap, his eyes narrowing.

"**There was this girl who shot lightening out of her hands-"**

"**Via Stanton."**

"**Yeah, that's her. Anyway, this monster had my legs and she was trying to help me escape but the lightening veered from its original path and aimed itself at me."**

"**Really? Are you sure?"**

"**Yeah…quite sure. I wish someone had warned me about her lightening power."**

"**Why would anyone have warned you?"** Jaden gulped. He hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"**Because…lightening always does that,"** he mumbled.

"**What? I couldn't hear you,"** Spex said, leaning closer.

"**Because lightening always does that,"** he repeated, looking straight at her this time. Spex leaned back, evaluating what Jaden had just said.

"**So…lightening always does that?"**

"**Yes."**

"**It just deviates towards you."**

"**Yes."**

"**All the time."**

"**Yeees,"** Jaden said, frustrated.

"**Why?"** Jaden groaned and hurled himself backwards onto the bed, putting and arm over his eyes.

"**I don't know. Maybe it's because of my power you know? Sucking out the life energy of things, perhaps it's sucking out the life energy of lightening? There were times when I would be close to the flame of a candle and the flame would lean towards me. But that was only if I had like my bare hand out. With lightening, it's all the time, whether I'm clothed fully or not."**

"**That's an interesting idea. It's definitely a possibility. Maybe the lightening is drawn to you because it has much more life energy than a flame does?"**

"**Do fire and lightening even have life energy? I don't know how it works."** The boy sat up again and shrugged his shoulders. **"Maybe. Anyway, I'm kind of scared of lightening anyway, so having a bolt just rushing at me like that freaked me out. I'm kinda okay now but my stomach is not. I tend to have an exaggerated upchuck reflex when scared shitless."**

"**Amelia, your language."**

"**What about it? It's English."**

"**Don't be a smart ass."** Jaden smiled at the elderly lady.

"**Dr. Spex, your language."**

"**It's alright for me to curse. I deserve it after all these years of dealing with you kids. Now let me go find something that might settle that stomach of yours…"** The woman stood, placing her clipboard atop her stool, and disappeared into an adjoining room. Jaden watched the door through which she had vanished before leaning over and snatching up the clipboard. Just as he had thought. It was his file, or at least it had his name on it with a lot of notes written in the blank areas. His eyes scanned the words furiously; he only had a moment, maybe two. He picked out key observations, his mind committing them practically to memory.

_Having possible flashbacks, nightmares_

_Fire triggers collapse, re-experiencing the event in dreams during unconsciousness_

_Feeling guilty, depressed, prone to angry outbursts_

_Ran away from home, avoiding the location of the event?_

_Hyper arousal; tense, on edge, has difficulty sleeping since event_

_Possible post traumatic stress disorder, needs further examinations and observations._

Disorder? What the fuck was this _disorder_ she thought he had? Damn right she needed some more observations. She needed to go back to freaking medical school. There was _nothing_ wrong with him. He wasn't depressed! And he didn't run away from home to avoid the 'event'. He ran away to escape Malicia. And he _hated _how she referred to it as the 'event'. It wasn't an event. Events were concerts in the park or fireworks on the Fourth of July. It was a fucking funeral, this 'event'. The funeral of his brother. He chucked the clipboard at the wall and stormed out of the room, slamming the door firmly behind him.

"**Amelia?"** Dr. Spex called, peeping around the door of the medicine closet she had previously entered. No answer. **"Amelia?"** she said again, reemerging back into the main room. She only had to take one glance at the clipboard on the floor, its scattered papers, and the empty room to know exactly what had happened. **"Oh dear…"**

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Jaden cornered some puny freshman around the corner, demanding how to get to the detention room. The little boy directed him down the hall and to the left, before running away screeching like a banshee. Jaden had the sudden urge to chase him down and tackle the boy but he told himself that it was his anger talking.

He hurried down the hallway, rushing to get to the room before the late bell rang. Whoever heard of a kid that _wanted _to get to detention on time? Well, there was one thing Mr. Aku was good for. Now Jaden was reluctant to arrive tardy to any class, fearing the wrath that his tardiness might ensue. He skidded to a halt in front of a white door with a circular porthole window. Bold, black letters spelled out the word 'detention' on the door so Jaden was guessing this was probably the right place. The door didn't have a knob so he knocked, at a loss as to what he _could _do. It slid open, revealing a crisp white room with crisp white tiles and crisp white desks and everything was just so crisp and white. He took a step in, the door sliding shut behind him. Upon further inspection of the room, Jaden suddenly had the mental image of straitjackets and men in scrubs with giant needles. He turned to make a swift escape and jumped back when the door slid open again, revealing Principal Powers and Lash. Jaden giggled nervously and scuttled to an empty desk, hurriedly seating himself.

"**Were you planning on leaving, Mr. Hart?"** Powers assessed him, her gray eyes suspicious. Jaden furiously shook his head.

"**No, ma'am. I just thought I was in the wrong room…"**

"**Well, you are certainly not. This detention room is state of the art, constructed of materials and technology that neutralize your powers."** The boy's eyes widened, his mouth dropping open in astonishment.

"**You mean my powers don't work here?" **Powers flashed him a knowing smile.

"**No, they do not."**

"**Can I live here?"** The woman laughed and escorted Lash into the room alongside her.

"**I'm afraid not, Jaden. These rooms are very expensive to make. Did you know the Lyptica Prison is built entirely of this stuff?" **she asked, knocking on the wall for emphasis. Jaden nodded.

"**Yeah, I researched it. I wanted to know how they could keep all those villains in there without them blowing the place up."**

"**Yes. It's certainly amazing. Well, I'm glad to see that it's only your second day here and you've already gotten yourself in trouble,"** she mused, perking a brow. Jaden's face was blank as he stated, **"What can I say? I'm not exactly a people pleaser." **

"**Well, maybe at least attempt to get along with your teachers?"**

"**I did. I failed with flying colors. The attempt, not the class. Except I've probably failed the class too because Mr. Aku hates me."**

"**He does not. Stop being ridiculous."**

"**Yes he does! Did you know he was an ex-villain?"**

"**I did. It's why I hired him. We need as much experience as we can get to teach our students, from both sides. He's proved himself to be reformed."**

"**Reformed? If that man is reformed now, I'd like to see him when he wasn't! Do you know what he did tod-"** Jaden cut himself off. He couldn't reveal to Powers that Aku and he had some kind of power show down causing both of them to collapse. She'd probably want him to get examined more and she might actually _push _it this time. No way was he going back to diagnosed with some disorder. No way, no how.

"**Do I know what he did…what?"** Powers asked, furrowing her brow questioningly.

"**Never mind,"** Jaden mumbled, turning to examine the crispness of the walls. Powers shrugged and exited the room, leaving a final command to the two of them to 'play nice.' Lash took one glance out the window to make sure the coast was clear before marching over to Jaden.

"**Your powers are neutralized, punk. No fighting skills for you now, huh?"** he said, leering down at the boy.

'_**Oh shit! He's right. I can't fight well in here; otherwise, I'll risk exposing myself. Oh fuck….'**_ Lash snatched him up by the neck of his shirt and yanked him from the desk, tossing Jaden to the ground at his feet. Jaden cried out as Lash's boot slammed into his side, hard and heavy. The boy tried to roll away, opting to defend himself if he couldn't exactly go on the offensive, but Lash quickly scooped him up again, landing a fierce punch to the stomach. Jaden coughed, his lungs aching at the effort. He couldn't attack like he usually did and it would be no use to attack him weakly. That could just get him hurt worse. He would just have to suck it up and take it like a man. A man that was a girl. But a man all the same. He winced as another blow to abdomen was dealt and he was thrown to the ground again. This time, he rolled swiftly enough out of the way to avoid another hard kick. Jaden suspected those combat boots were steel toed and if they were a hard enough blow could break a rib. Jaden knew he had the power to perhaps heal his bruises once he got out of here but broken bones? He'd never tested that before and he certainly didn't have the money to take care of himself in case his theory did _not _work out. He couldn't heal the burns on his back. So bones were probably not able to mend either.

He rolled onto his stomach, army crawling with his elbows to escape Lash.

Lash jumped onto his back.

Jaden let out a blood curdling scream.

'_**The burns, the burns, oh my god, I am going to kill this mother fucker!'**_ Lash immediately leaped away, startled by the boy's reaction. Jaden leapt to his feet and launched himself at Lash, wrapping a gloved hand around his forearm. But his grip was slippery in the woolen gloves and Lash escaped his hold. Jaden cursed and removed the obstructing articles of clothing, tossing the pair of mittens over his shoulder. He grabbed at Lash again, wrapping a firm hand around Lash's left bicep this time. _**'Remember! You're weak, weak!'**_ Jaden loosened his grip. Slightly. Lash brought his right arm around, wrapping his own hand around Jaden's neck. Jaden squeaked and threw up his other hand to claw at Lash's. Lash lifted the boy off his feet and into the air. Jaden cursed inside his head. The one position he had never been good at defending himself in, Lash had to put him in it. He should have eaten more vegetables when he was younger. Maybe he could have grown to a more useful height like...7'4. Jaden kicked his legs, landing a few among the area of Lash's knees but the elastic boy was furious.

He must seriously hate getting detention.

Lash pinned him against the wall, his hold still strong. Jaden felt his head knock back against some kind of indentation in the wall…the window! He was pinned against the door. Focusing his remaining energy into kicking the door now, Jaden hoped someone would hear. His bare hands clawed at Lash's face and Jaden wished he still had the long manicured fingernails of a girl. Stubby little squares didn't do much damage. Lash howled as Jaden's fingers made contact with his right eye. Jaden hoped it fell out. Stretchy reared his free hand back and punched Jaden straight in the face. He winced as his head slammed back into the glass window.

Oi, it was getting a bit blurry all of a sudden.

And a little bit hard to breathe.

Fuck.

Jaden gave one last kick to the door before becoming still in Lash's grasp, reserving his energy instead just to breathe. Short, little, shuddering breaths he couldn't seem to get enough of. And then suddenly, he was falling backwards and into the hallway. The door had opened. Jaden toppled onto the floor, Lash following closely behind and falling on top of him, his hand still wrapped firmly around Jaden's throat.

But now it was different.

Lash's eyes fluttered sleepily and his grip loosened; rolling away from Jaden and onto his back, unconscious. At least, Jaden hoped he was just unconscious. Wait. No he didn't. He hoped he was dead. Just plain dead. Jaden gasped, sucking in a grateful mouth of air.

"**Thank…you…"** he managed to croak, focusing on his savior who stood over him. He smiled thankfully at whoever had opened the door. That is until his vision was sharp again. And he saw that his savior was Warren Peace.

Another fuck.

Why did this guy keep popping up _everywhere?_ (A/N: 'Cause that's what Warren does in fan fiction!) Jaden sat up, cringing as his back curled upward. That douche Lash had probably scraped off all the healed skin he'd built up over the last few days. Triple fuck.

Warren's face was impassive.

"**What are you doing here anyway?"** Jaden asked, propping himself up against the wall. He wasn't ready enough to stand yet. It had been a long day, today had. He didn't know if he'd be ready to stand anytime soon at all.

"**I set some kid's shirt on fire in the cafeteria,"** he said, point blank.

Jaden blinked at him.

"**He was running around, screaming about some guy that had threatened his life in the hallway. It was **_**really **_**irritating me. He's fine. Just freaked. Boomer sent me to detention,"** he elaborated, shrugging.

"**Was he short, like shorter than me? Blonde hair, green eyes?" **Jaden asked. Warren nodded. **"Oops. My bad then,"** Jaden said, making a face.

"**Your bad?"**

"**I was the guy that threatened his life."** Warren nodded, as if his acquaintances issued death threats everyday.

Jaden stood, leaning against the wall for support. **"Well, thanks for opening the door. I gotta go…somewhere. Don't want to be around when he wakes up,"** he grumbled, motioning to the unconscious Lash. Jaden turned and began to limp away before Warren clamped a hand down on his shoulder, although it was a gentle clamp.

"**Was he beating you up in there?"** he asked, nodding at the detention door. Jaden simply nodded. What would be the point in lying? He would probably have bruises by gym, as fast as his pale skin bruised**. "Was he…strangling you when I opened the door?"** Jaden nodded again. There'd probably be handprints around his neck as well. He'd have to see if Powers couldn't get Lash and him _separate _detentions. **"What did you do to him to make him pass out like that?"**

Uh. Crap. How to explain that one…quickly, Amelia, quickly.

"**Pressure point,"** Jaden answered, attempting to walk away again but Warren let him go, instead deciding to cast the boy on the ground a withering glance. Jaden quickly retrieved his discarded backpack and hurried from the scene. If Jaden had stayed behind, he would have witnessed Warren crouch and strike Lash's face four times before going on his own merry way.

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Jaden retreated to the library, settling into his favorite little loveseat in the far back, shadowed behind the massive bookcases. He didn't cry this time. Just merely sat and wondered. He _really REALLY _hurt. The irritated stinging burns on his back did not help his slowly plummeting mood. Today had been a really BAD day.

And during the trek here from the detention room, Jaden had been scouring the area for plant life. And I mean _scouring_. The boy had ripped apart an entire empty lab just hunting for some amount of foliage, any amount of foliage, even _seeds _would do. Jaden heaved a sigh and sunk further into the cushions, maneuvering into a position that wouldn't bother his wounds. His back hurt, his face hurt, his side hurt, his throat hurt though that small amount of life he had stolen from Lash at the end had helped to alleviate the skin burns around his neck. It probably wouldn't show up now but it still ached underneath the unbroken skin. It hadn't been a long enough skin to skin connection to do any real healing so the bruises that lay deep in his tissues were still present. And, God, did his face throb. Jaden feared Lash might have broken his nose but he wasn't positive. Didn't broken noses bleed? No blood had appeared yet. But he'd definitely have a black eye, that's for sure, if he didn't find some plant life.

He had forgotten physical pain. Flora life energy had always been available to consume and to heal. And while he hadn't exactly excelled in his combatant courses in Hell, deliberately failed was more like it, everyone had feared his power enough not to rough him up too hard. Lash had hit to hurt. Hurt badly. And Jaden wasn't used to waiting with this kind of discomfort. When he was injured, he could go kill a few flowers and he'd be all new again. Then again, no one had really put their all into beating the crap out of him. Ugh….he didn't like pain. The burns were bad enough to deal with on a daily basis. That itching, stinging feeling, a constant annoyance. Oi, he hurt.

He was such a pansy.

Jaden groaned, tossing his head back into the fluffy upholstery behind him. He _was _a pansy, he realized. Couldn't even deal with a few aches and pains for more than ten minutes. He really _needed _to toughen up. He wasn't a pampered princess anymore, living in a penthouse on the Manhattan skyline. He was living in a tree house, in a park. Nope, definitely not a fairytale lifestyle anymore.

Jaden remained in the library until the bell signaling the end of lunch and the start of third period rang.

He stood up and stretched his arms skyward, trying to keep his face expressionless as the raw skin extended itself across his shoulders. He grabbed his bag and only placed one arm through a strap, choosing to let it bounce against his side rather than rub his back.

Yep, he was a pansy.

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Huzzah. Two chapters in one upload. Have I made you happy, have I, have I? :D

And Jaden's power is revealed. He sucks the life energy out of things. For now. (FORESHADOWING RIGHT THERE HINT HINT)

Very Rogue from X-Men-ish. There's more to it though. None of that power mimicry crap she does. I never did understand that. My guy/girl has _reasons _and _explanations _for his/her powers. But I've already revealed too much. GASP.

Wait til it's revealed to the rest of the cast. I can imagine their reactions now.

Warren: That's hot. (Not really)

Layla: Its okay, Jaden, because you don't have to use your powers for violence. (Freaking hippie)

Will: Oh, really? That's your power? Well, you see, I have this ex-girlfriend right…(Okay, first off, I'm not a hitman. Second off, how much are you offering me?)

Zach Attack: So if I touch you, I'll be a dead light bulb? (Pretty much)

Magenta: Oh, thank God. You can put me out of my misery. (Cheer up, emo kid)

Popsicle Boy: ….(I got nothing for him. D:)

Anyway, I have a contest for the readers.

My dominating muse needs a name. I'm not sure whether it's female or male. I've been referring to it as a 'she' but I'd name it something male too. Who cares.

I want you guys to name it. Whether it's a realish name like Kelley. Or a made up name such as…well SludgeBob SquelchPants.

NAME IT.

Send in your ideas and I'll put a poll up. I'm not sure how the polls work on profiles and whether it allows anonymous people to vote. I'll probably just put the list in an Author's Note at the end of chapter. Le blah.

Now review. Give me your comments, critiques, questions and names.

NOW.

Please. :D

And yes, porcupines make great heroes. One day you'll be in a jam, some guy has you tied to the train tracks, and you'll just _wish _there was a porcupine there to save you. I dare you to challenge me. D:

And I don't know if porcupines can curl up into balls. That might just be hedgehogs. Or…armadillos. -._-.

For the sake of the story, porcupines curl up into balls.

Nyah.

This has been a senseless chatter from the author that adores you when you talk to her in reviews;

-Kinetic Kat


	9. Author's Note and some Random

First off, I apologize for not updating in so long. I am having some, hm, I guess _issues,_in life. College is just...Jesus. I hate it. I would also like to apologize to all my readers who are coming to this, thinking there is a new chapter. I don't like disappointing you. I do have several chapters waiting but I will not post them all right now. I will be posting a chapter later today though.

I really need a beta. Someone with a reader's point of view who will help me develop this story. I've been looking over the story and I believe it is turning into, if it isn't one already, a Mary Sue. Or would it be a Gary Stu, since Jaden is posing as a boy? Whatever. I don't want it to go down the Mary Sue road.

I have a vague, very vague plot written out. Basically, things that need to happen in order to get to the ending. But plot bunnies just keep popping up and saying,"OH, do this instead!" And it's putting everything out of whack. I need someone to keep me on track, one who will say "EFF YOU, PLOT BUNNIES. Kat, stop trying to throw in so many events, things like this don't happen in real life."

So if anyone is interested, please message me. Or review me. Just contact me in some way. I would go to the beta category for SkyHigh and go find search out one myself, but the last THREE times I've done that, they're all "Yeah, I'll be your beta. :D" And then never respond when I send all this story information. On my other story, Black and White, which is on hiatus, I recently had a girl offer to be my beta. She's great. And I figure, a good beta will probably be someone who _wants _to be your beta and will _ask _to be it. I'll post a chapter later today but JUST BE WARNED it might just be changed. And I will tell you if I go back and take out certain events. So you won't be screwed up on what the characters know and don't know.

Also, I'm pretty sure just Author's Notes are illegal on fanfiction and what not so I have attached a one shot random to this. Nothing to do with the real story. Except for the fact that the main characters attend Hell's Depths. You can skip it if you like.

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A Day in the Life of the Black Kat

It was dark. It was cold. And it was raining. All that was needed to finish off this gloomy scene was-

A long and mournful howl pierced the silence.

-that.

"So they've realized it now, eh?" a girl clad in entirely black whispered. She was pressed against the wall of a dark alleyway, her dark attire aiding her in blending into the shadows. A pedestrian just passing by the alley wouldn't see her, unless she moved or perhaps made a sound.

But Kat would neither move nor make a sound. No, mistakes like that were for amateurs, and she, the infamous Black Kat, was no amateur.

Suddenly, she sensed movement behind her and whipped around, her elbow banging into the wall painfully. She gasped and dropped to the ground, clasping her arm to her chest.

"OW OW OW OW OW OW oiiiiiiiii, my funny bone, my funny bone," she whimpered.

The creature that had startled her and ultimately caused her current pain, jumped onto an overturned trash can nearby. A slim beam of light filtering in from the street entrance revealed the creature to be…. a black cat.

"You know, I never got why they called it a funny bone but seeing you squirming on the ground like this, I do get it," the cat said, releasing a quirky meow that could only be described as the feline equivalent of laughter. Kat glared at the cat, tossing a crushed up soda can is his direction.

"SHUT UP, JIJI. It's all your fault anyway. Don't sneak up on me."

"I thought that being sneaky was your number one rule, Miss _Black Kat. _And don't call me Jiji. My name is Frederick. I've already told you this."

"Being sneaky _is _my number one rule but that doesn't mean you have to do it too. You're supposed to make a ton of noise so I know you're coming and can hide, _Jiji_."

"I hope you're not suggesting that the _original _black cat cease his sneaking just so the _copycat _black cat won't resemble a fool."

Kat 'hmphed' and stood to brush the street grit off of herself.

"Just because you were a black cat before me does not mean I was copying you. Plus, My name Katherine, Kat, Black Kat. It just makes sense to go by that name. On the other hand, Black Frederick doesn't roll off the tongue that well. In fact, it sounds like some kind of racist slur. You're just jealous of my title."

Frederick narrowed his yellow eyes and leaped to the ground at her feet. A shiver ran through his entire body and fur suddenly became skin. A tall, dark haired young man now stood before Kat.

"At least I can actually _turn into _a black cat," he hissed.

Kat's lower lip quivered, her mouth set into a childish pout. Something glistened at the corner of her eye, what was it, a tear. OH NO. Frederick groaned.

"Oh God, not again."

And then Kat was full out bawling. Frederick winced at the hysterical noises she was emitting, putting his hands over his ears.

"What is it this time?" a female voice asked, a tawny, striped cat coming into view to represent it.

"H-he said 'At l-least he c-can turn i-i-into a black c-cat'," Kat wailed from her place on the ground.

The tawny colored cat sighed and morphed into a tall and beautiful girl with caramel colored hair.

"Freddy, really? Why do you always say that. You know how she reacts."

Frederick shrugged.

"I can't help it, Allie. It's too easy. I'm not trying to hurt her feelings but like I said-"

"It's too easy," she finished for him. "I understand."

It really was too easy. It was no secret that mentioning Kat's 'disability' automatically reduced her to a whiner baby. It was basically a daily ritual. Everyday, someone, somewhere, would comment on it to Kat. Allie didn't think of it as a disability, per say. It was more of an oddity really. You see, their group was a group of feline shape shifters. There were tons more than just these three but Allie, Kat, and Frederick mainly stuck to each other. They were the only feline shape shifters currently attending Hell's Depths. A cat clique, you could call it, was formed. It had only been Allie and Frederick, siblings actually, up last year, when Kat came into the picture. She was a new student at Hell's Depths, obviously, and had been classified as a minion immediately, due to the fact that the she failed to demonstrate any power whatsoever. However, she turned out to be a special case. Kat _is _a shape shifter and her chosen form _is _a black cat. It just happens to be that she can/will only fursplode when you scare her _really badly. _Though that wasn't very hard to do. In fact, when this little piece of information was public, the daily ritual had been 'Who can scare shift Kat?' Allie felt bad for the girl and took her under her wing. Allie was a gifted shape shifter villain and thought that she could help Kat master her power. One year later, no such luck, but she stuck with the emotionally unstable girl anyway. Deep down, she was fond of the girl and her idiocy. As for Frederick and Kat's relationship, well. Long story short, Kat met him first in cat form, dubbed him Jiji, discovered he was actually a human shape shifter, NOT a regular cat and they continued to bicker for the rest of their days.

Allie turned to Kat and held out a hand. "Come on, Kat. He only says it to make you mad, you know that. He doesn't mean anything by it."

Kat sniffled and nodded, taking her hand. Allie pulled her up to a standing position and smiled at the still softly blubbering girl. "Plus, you'll probably get the hang of it soon anyway. You're still young."

Kat's eyes scrunched up again as more tears threatened to flow over.  
"I'M THE SAME AGE AS YOUUUUUU!" she cried, crumpling back to the ground.

Allie glanced at Frederick, as if to confirm this statement. He nodded in reply.

"She is the same age as you."

Allie blinked dumbly.

"Oh, well…hm," she murmured. "How do I get myself out of this one?"

It was now Frederick's turn to crouch and comfort Kat.

"Come on Kat, she didn't mean anything by it. She just forgets sometimes that you've never eaten your vegetables and was thus confined to being the size of a gnome for the rest of your life."

Kat punched him in the face.

After shakily righting himself back into an upright position, Frederick nodded, solemnly saying, "I probably deserved that."

"You did," Allie and Kat replied in unison. Kat stood up again, wiping her eyes and face.

"Sorry about that, ANYHOO, everyone _obviously_ heard the howl since you all gathered here," she said, her face dead pan serious. The siblings rolled their eyes and nodded. They were used to how fast Kat changed faces by now. "Then you will be happy to know that I have successfully stolen something from the dogs."

Frederick and Allie glanced at each other, then back to Kat.

"No way!" Fred exclaimed.

"But how?" Allie gasped.

Kat struck a heroic pose, pausing for a brutal moment before saying, "With my fabulous sneaking skills of course."

There was a moment of silence before the siblings both replied, "No, seriously."

Kat glanced at them, a frown masking her previous gleeful expression. "But I am serious."

Allie and Fred continued to stare wistfully at her.

"Okay, fine. A new guy was guarding the door, a pup really, and I just kind of lured him away with my charm."

"You lured him away with food didn't you?" Freddy asked, smirking.

Kat slumped pitifully. "Damn you!...yes."

"And he didn't smell the cat on you or anything?" Allie gaped, astonished that Kat had actually managed to worm her way into the dogs' lair. Though Kat was pretty good at worming herself into places and situations. That was one feline trait she retained well in her human form.

"Allie, she doesn't turn into a cat often enough for the scent to stick her like it does to us," Freddy answered. Kat's eyes took on a glistening look. "God, don't do that again." Kat's mouth widened to emit what was probably going to more wails before Frederick clamped a quick hand over it. "No. You only get to cry once a day. Plus, I think I hear something. So shut up."

Kat sucked in a gulp of air as Freddy released her but ultimately remained silent. The group swiveled their heads to catch the slightest sound. Kat didn't really know why she was listening; Allie and Frederick were the ones that had super sensitive ears. But she did it anyway, for appearances sake.

Patta patta patta patta patta patta.

OH? She could hear what they were hearing now, the sound of feet padding on concrete. It sounded like a great many somethings running, ACTUALLY, it kind of sounded like-

"DOGS!" screeched Allie and Frederick at once, leaping up into the air and latching onto the fire escape landing above them, just as a massive stampede of various canines came roaring around the corner. Kat shrieked and scrambled onto a dumpster, not having the amazing agility reflexes her companions had. Truly, she kind of _threw_ herself in the dumpster. The pack of dogs came to a halt beneath the hissing Allie and Frederick. Releasing growls and barks, the group morphed into their human counterparts, and began grappling for the escape ladder that the siblings had pulled up just in time.

The dogs and cats had been at war for who knows how long, though they never entered into an actual battle. It was more like immature pranking. Cats would leave rotting fish heads outside the dog's hideout. Anything rotting would do actually. The cats liked to aggravate the dogs' sensitive noses. In turn, dogs would wait outside the cats' hideout with a hose and wait for someone to exit. Yes, they were constantly going back and forth.

A loud bark froze everyone to their places, even the freaking Kat who hadn't been noticed by the dogs. Or at least, they didn't consider her much of a threat. Every shape shifter in the alley turned to look at the street entrance where a hulking, German Shepherd stood.

"Shit. We're in deep shit. Really deep. Like 40,000 leagues under the shit, deep. Shit," Frederick mumbled.

"Stop cursing," Allie hissed back to him.

Allie, being the sort of alpha of their feline pack, stood up to full height and nodded to the German Shepherd.

"Kujo," she said. The dog shivered and morphed into a beast of a human man.

"Allison," he replied. Allie cringed. She hated that name. Allison. Bleh.

"Who's Kujo?" Kat mused from her side of the alley. The dog group, finally realizing there was another, turned to look at her. Out of the corner of her eye, Kat saw Frederick face palm himself. Allie sighed. The one in question stepped forward, smirking.

"I'm Kujo, alpha of the Hell's Kitchen canine shape shifting pack. And you are?"

Kat scrambled out of the dumpster, clumsily, and sneered back at him.

"I'm the Black Kat of course," she retorted, posing heroically again. She had an eggshell in her hair and a banana peel stuck to her butt. Either this did not disturb her because she was so awesome that not even trash could dampen her spirits, or she failed to notice because she was just that unobservant. Most likely the latter. Kujo chuckled.

"_The _Black Kat? I didn't know there was a particular one." Kat frowned at him, a lower lip beginning to poke out. Allie and Frederick were at once praying that she would not do this, not now, not in front of their mortal enemies.

"You've….you've never heard of me?" she inquired.

"Nope."

Kat's lips smashed together in a thin line. Allie and Frederick immediately winced at her body language. They knew she wouldn't be taking the crying route but she would be taking the _much _worse one. Oh dear God, she would embarrass them all.

"Well then, maybe you should open your ears, buddy!" she growled, snatching the eggshell from her hair and hurling it at his face. She missed, of course, but the intent was still there. Kujo merely glanced at the object now lying at his feet and turned back to Allie.  
"Very nice recruit you have there, Allison. I bet she contributes a ton in fights."

"She's very useful," Allie said, defensively.

"I bet. Real keeper. So anyway, let's get down to business. You know why we're here I'm sure."

"No. Not really."

Kujo perked a suspicious brow.

"Oh really? Then who else would have stolen our precious religious icon?" Allie shrugged. At this moment a young man came up, a boy really, and whispered something in Kujo's ear. Kujo's head whipped around so fast to glare at him, that he almost knocked the kid out with his chin. "WHAT? Impossible!"

"What's impossible, Kujo?" Allie asked.

"He says," Kujo motioned to the boy, "That is was your little pet over there that lured him away with a Big Mac combo meal."

Allie and Frederick swiveled their gazes to stare in horror at Kat. If she was a cat, her ears would have been laid flat in defense. In human form, she looked like she was going to prepare herself for a major scolding.

"YOU STOLE THEIR ICON?" screeched Allie.

"YOU USED A BIG MAC COMBO MEAL TO LURE HIM AWAY?" yelled Frederick.

Kat flinched.

"I didn't think it was _that_ important…And what's the big deal about using a Big Mac combo meal?"

"You didn't think it was that important?" roared Kujo. "YOU SMASHED THROUH A GLASS CASE TO GET TO IT! And using a Big Mac combo meal is the lowest of the low. All cats know that is the dogs' greatest weakness."

"Oh that. Well. I thought you guys wanted to keep it clean or something. As for Big Macs being your greatest weakness, are we not supposed to use our enemies' weaknesses against them? I'm confused."

"It's an honor thing, Kat. They don't go around with boxes of sushi to lure us out; we don't carry around bags of Big Macs to lure them out," Allie sighed.

"Oh. Well, I don't even like sushi anyway," Kat shrugged.

Kujo gave her a curious look.

"Just what kind of cat ARE you?" he gaped.

"A very bad one. She's horrible at it, truly," Frederick groaned.

Kat attempted to hiss menacingly at him. "See? Can't even challenge one properly in cat-a-nese. She's a real disgrace to the clan."

"Well, whatever kind of cat she is, she has our icon and I want it back, NOW," Kujo snarled. He threw out a hand, palm up, as if waiting for Kat to hand it to him.

She perked a brow.

"No way! You know how long it took me to break that case? Like 2 minutes. I couldn't find anything heavy enough and had to walk all OVER your little compound to find a chair. It is my prize now."

Kujo went through a sudden fursplosion and was once again a giant German Shepherd. He launched himself forward so that he was directly in front of Kat, taking snaps at her face and ankles.

"You wanted your icon thingy back you say? Why of course I'll give it back to you, no problem. Sorry for the trouble," Kat hurriedly sputtered, reaching into her pocket to withdraw….a purple and red chew toy.

She tossed it into the air and Kujo leaped up to snatch it in his jaws. He gave her one last withering glance before stalking from the alley, the pack following closely behinds, shifting into their canine forms as they exited the shadows.

Allie and Frederick jumped gracefully back down to the ground. Immediately upon landing, Allie stomped over to Kat and grabbed the back of her collar, shaking it wildly. "Stealing sacred religious icons, Bic Mac combo meals, we DEFINITELY need to work on your knowledge of dogs," she grumbled, dragging Kat out of the alleyway. Kat stumbled backwards glancing at Frederick for help. He shook his head; it was an inevitable doom for her then. Still, it brightened her night when Frederick gave her a high five, commending her on her sneaking and thievery skills, even if she did use _supposedly_ dishonorable methods.

Oh yes, she was THE Black Kat.

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Yeah, stupid, I know. :l

And before you ask, NO, I am not the Kat in this short story. It was actually inspired by my cat Boo, who doesn't act like a cat at all (Until she's gets scared). And how the other two cats, Minnie and Marshmallow, have to teach her stuff it seems like. I'm more portrayed in Frederick than anyone else. Because I am a jerk. :l Also Kujo was inspired by my dog, Gracie, who likes to taunt Boo. But gets along with the others.

Blah blah blah.

Next chapter will be up soon. Today in fact. Just remember, if I get a beta response and they don't like the way the plot is going, the chapter WILL most likely be changed. And I'll tell you of this change. As soon as I get a beta, I will remove this chapter/author's note/random.


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own Sky High.

Also, I'm taking out the bold dialogue. More disliked it than liked it sooo…yeah. Most reviewers said it distracted them and pulled them out of the flow of the story.

You know the drill, read, review, criticize. Facepunch. LET'S DO THIS.

I'm finally responding to reviews after so long; since there have been so many since I last updated, I've placed them at the bottom this time.

Also, things with numbers in parentheses beside them mean there is a note at the bottom. I'm doing it this way from now on, so that there is minimal interruption to the flow of the story.

ENJOY!

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Jaden trudged slowly into the gym, not looking forward to any kind of physical exertion. His search for foliage within the school had been a failure. However, he had gotten a glimpse of the green grass that lie in wait for him outside, just waiting for him to suck out all of its life energy.

Well, maybe it wasn't waiting for Jaden to end its simple life but he sure as hell was going to do it anyway. He would have already done it, if he had seen the grass earlier. He noticed it outside while walking down the hall that lead to the gym. The boy hadn't seen any doors leading directly outside and because he had been taking his sweet time to get to gym, he'd be late if his deviated from his path now. And he DID NOT want to see Coach Boomer mad. Jaden was pretty sure the man would deal out a worse punishment than detention. Though, currently, 'detention' was pretty high up on Jaden's list of 'Most horrible things in the world.'

Oi. How he ached.

'_Ughhhh. I wish I could meet the person who invented the concept of pain so I could end THEIR life.' _

He shuffled into the locker room with the other boys of the school, hurrying into the bathroom portion so he could secure a stall for himself. Latching the door behind him, Jaden began the slow and painful process of removing his current articles of clothing. It hurt to stretch his arms higher than his chest; thanks to Lash fully removing any healed skin the boy had accumulated over the last week. It pained him to twist too, also thanks to Lash and his hard ass shoes. Oh yes, he would have very nice bruises in about an hour or so, unless he could find a way outside other than exiting through the front doors. A boy crouching in front of the school, making the grass die, well, that wasn't exactly inconspicuous, was it?

Nope, it wasn't. So he'd just have to deal with it and wait for now. Though the first option was much more appealing to him, currently, as he struggled with removing his hoodie. He grunted and leaned over, attempting to shimmy his way out but to no avail. It just hurt too much to stretch his arms over his head. Fuck it. He just wouldn't change. How much trouble could he really get in?

He exited the stall; the locker room was pretty much empty, the boys already having changed and left. Jaden sighed. Leaving the locker room by himself, now he was sure to stand out. He shoved his backpack into an empty locker and began the possibly embarrassing walk out of the locker room.

He was right.

It was embarrassing.

"HART!" Boomer boomed across the gym, no pun intended.

Jaden flinched.

"Yes, sir?" he replied meekly, he just did not have the energy to back talk the man today.

"Where are your gym clothes?"

"In my backpack?" Jaden mumbled.

"And why are you not wearing them?"

Geez. Did he really have to ask that? What was Jaden's excuse going to be? He couldn't say because it hurt too much to change, could he? Hmm. Well, if he wanted to get Lash in trouble, this was the way to do it.

"Because, sir, I got beat up earlier today and it kind of hurts to move."

"You got beat up, eh? What about your so called 'superior combatant skills?'"

"I got beat up in the detention room, sir. My powers couldn't help me there."

"Likely story. A twenty point deduction to your daily grade because you failed to change out and for making up excuses."

Jaden sighed for what had to be the millionth time that day. _'Of course, he doesn't believe me. Am I really that hard to believe? Or do people just like making me suffer? Maybe I should try to dim down my smart ass-ness. It doesn't seem to be winning me any points with the teachers. Actually, it doesn't seem to be winning me points with anyone…Which is the effect I wanted. Argh. Fuck life. '_

The ebony haired boy took a seat in the front row, as far as possible as he could get from Warren and co. Also about as far as he could get from Lash and Speed who, incidentally, had chosen to sit in the back today too.

He watched with narrowed eyes as Boomer strutted his way to the middle of the gymnasium.

"ATTENTION!" he bellowed at the bleachers full of students; all chatter ceased immediately. "I know we're scheduled to do an obstacle course run but we'll be doing 'Save the Citizen' again today. It seems that some acidic fumes have escaped the basement lab and have corroded a few of the mechanical obstacles. The custodial staff will be working on those underneath us. Wouldn't want spikes to shoot up where they're not supposed to, eh? HAHAHA." Jaden scowled. He sincerely wished some spikes would impale Boomer in the areas _he _didn't want them to. But of course, Jaden's wishes never got granted.

"So Peace and Stronghold, come on down while I decide who will be today's villains."

Warren stood and immediately began his walk down to the closed in arena. Will, however, did not make a move to join him. Instead, it was Layla who clambered down the bleachers to join the pyro. Boomer perked a brow. "Switching with Stronghold today, Ms. Williams?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, he says he doesn't feel well. He ate the mystery meat today, sir," she replied.

"You should never choose the meals that have the word 'mystery' in the name," Boomer said, shaking his head sadly. He glanced down at his clipboard, made a note and began surveying the crowd, scoping out his next victims. "So how about Mr. Binder (1), you come on down. You always put on a nice show. And…." Boomer's eyes flitted over the faces of students. His gaze paused on one particular boy, while h is mouth quirked up into a malicious smirk. "And Mr. Hart. Why don't you join Mr. Binder down here?" Jaden stared at the man. Surely he could not be serious? Surely Jaden was just imagining this? Surely there was another Hart kid in here? The boy glanced around him, waiting for the other Hart to stand up and reveal himself. But all he saw were focused gazes on him. Jaden returned his eyes back to Boomer and made a pointing motion at himself.

"Me?" Jaden asked, his voice a squeak.

Boomer nodded.

'_Of course I get chosen to be a villain. The world has a cruel sense of humor.'_

He released a heavyhearted sigh, stood, and trudged slowly forward, taking up a dejected pose a few feet from Lash. _'Why meeeeee? WHY?' _

The quartet entered the enclosure, Boomer locking it securely behind them. Lash and Jaden took their places on the left half, Warren and Layla took the right. The citizen dummy dangled above them in the center of the arena, over a boiling vat of acid. Oh, the fun that would ensue.

"Heroes, ready?" Boomer screeched.

"Yes!" Warren and Layla replied in unison.

"Villains, ready?" Lash nodded, Jaden shrugged. "Alright, START!"

Jaden flinched at Boomer's sudden increase in volume, distracting him from the sudden fist that came flying his way from the right. The boy received the punch at full force in the stomach, cringing as it met with his already tender tissues. He immediately crouched, making a smaller target.

'_From the right, from the right, protect your right side, Amelia. Wait…Layla and Warren would be coming from the front. Who would be attacking you from your right? There's only one person…'_ Jaden glanced up, only to see another fist coming at him. A fist with a black and white striped sleeve attached to it. '_Lash…'_ He rolled deftly out of the way and back into a standing position, his anger at full throttle.

"What the HELL are you doing? We're supposed to be fighting those two," Jaden screamed, waving his arm at Warren and Layla who stood shocked on the other side. They were still processing what had happened. Never before had the opposing team started fighting _each other. _Lash laughed and lunged at the small boy.

"But I never got to finish what I started. And I would just _love _how to know how you escaped me. You broke my nose by the way. There was blood all over my face when I woke up."

Jaden looked at him incredulously, ducking out of the path of his arm. "WHAT? I didn't even hit you in the face. I couldn't reach it." Lash scoffed.

"Oh, don't be so modest. Fess up. You hit me in the face, knocking me unconscious, and breaking my nose."

Jaden shook his head. '_They always come up with a reason for why they passed out. But if I didn't break his nose then who did? The only other person that was around was…'_ he glanced to the side at the pyrokinetic boy. "…Warren," Jaden mumbled, furrowing his brow. _'And now _I'M_ getting blamed for it.' _Warren was looking at him as well, with a creased forehead of his own. Jaden should have never looked at him; it would be a huge mistake on his part.

Lash had stretched his arm into a circular shape, hovering the limb over Jaden's head and out of sight. As soon as the boy glanced away he pulled it down, wrapping it around and around Jaden's torso like a lasso. He squeezed.

And there was a sickening crack.

A look of pain flashed across Jaden's face before being replaced by something else, something worse. Anger. And an angry Jaden was much worse than a Jaden in pain.

"Warren? Did you hear that?" Layla asked, looking at him with worried eyes.

"Yeah," he said, nodding, "It sounded like…bones breaking."

"Do you think Jaden is alright? Do you….do you think we should help him?"

"Yes. I think we should."

The two immediately jumped into action. Layla removed several seeds from a small pouch inside her pocket, a pouch she had carried since their villain encounters the year before. The seeds sprung into life; vines whipped away from Layla's palm and crawled towards Lash. Warren's arms ignited into infernos as he ran towards the elastic boy. Jaden saw all this, even the fire, but even his fear could not distract his attention from the boy in front of him. Lash had raised him in the air, not allowing him to get any purchase with his feet. However, his arms were still free. He curled his fingers around Lash's arm and began to pry the offending limb away. He wasn't as strong as others but he was flexible and that made up for a lot of it. As soon as he had made a little space he brought up his knees, and used his feet to push away as well. Out of his peripheral vision he could see that Layla's vines had wrapped themselves around Lash himself while Warren's fireballs distracted Lash's free arm. The foliage tightened around Lash's ankles and yanked, knocking him flat to the ground. His grip on Jaden suddenly slackened and the boy was given enough space to finally release himself. He squirmed out of Lash's grip and leaped away.

"Oh no you don't!" Lash bellowed, his arm whipping back to wrap around his ankle and slamming him back to Earth.

'_Okay, this guy is REALLY starting to piss me off,'_ Jaden thought, spinning his free foot around to smash it into Lash's arm. Lash cried out and released him. Jaden hopped up and dusted himself off.

Meanwhile, a fuming speed demon was watching this take place. Lash's own villain partner, banding with the heroes to gang up on Lash! How despicable. (A/N: Lash started it!) Speed hopped up off the bleachers and raced to the entrance of the arena, unlatched the door and sped in to Lash's rescue.

"Coach Boomer!" Will called out, making his way to reach the Coach on his high stand. As soon as Lash had turned on Jaden, the entirety of the school had rushed onto the floor to surround the enclosure, their faces pressed up against the plexi glass. Thus, making for a hard time to push through. It wasn't too hard for Mr. Stronghold, however, as he shoved away the crowd; _gently _shoved.

"Coach Boomer!" Will called out again as he grabbed a hold of the high stand's base.

"What is it Stronghold?"

"Shouldn't you stop this? It looks like they're really fighting in there!"

"No way, Stronghold. This is too entertaining."

Will scowled and turned away. Instead of pushing back through the crowd he lifted off the floor and flew over their heads, landing wobbly on the other side of the gym. Mystery Meat did not agree with gravity defying stomachs. _'This isn't right,'_ Will thought. '_Layla will be okay with Warren there. I'm going to go get Principal Powers,' _ he thought, shoving against the double doors that served as the exit of the gym.

Speed had raced his way through Layla's many vines, his berth causing most of them to break away, which, in the process, freed Lash. They stood together now, opposing the two heroes and the renegade villain currently with them.

"Just take care of the plant girl. She's my only real competition," Lash mumbled sideways to Speed, who merely nodded.

Layla glanced at Warren, as if to reassure herself. Last year she had been able to get over her belief that using her powers for violence was wrong. Using them in classes to test the extent of her abilities and to master them was acceptable. Using them to defend herself, or someone else in this case, was entirely acceptable too. However, she still didn't fancy the thought of attacking someone. Warren inclined his head slightly at her, encouraging her that it was okay. While Warren admired Layla's strong morals, he never did like the way she seemed to have an inner ethical battle every time she did fight.

Jaden stool stalk still, his brow furrowed angrily. He was inhaling slowly, exhaling slowly. In. Out. In. Out. He knew that something had been broken inside of him but it didn't register within his fuming mind. This is how he been taught, after all, to forget everything else. Forget pain, forget comrades. Focus, fight, finish. Focus, fight finish. "Focus, finish, fight…" he murmured aloud, his creased forehead smoothing into an expression of impassiveness. Warren glanced at him from his left side.

"What?" he asked, thinking Jaden had spoken to him but Jaden didn't even seem to realize he was there. Warren's brow knit themselves together, questioningly, looking Jaden up and down. He was _positive _he had heard something cracking earlier, however, Jaden looked perfectly fine. In fact, he looked more than fine. He looked, calm. As if he hadn't just been tossed about like a sack of potatoes. It was slightly…unsettling.

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw a blur of movement out of the corner of his eye. Speed was circling Layla a wide enough circle that didn't form a vacuum like tornado. Just circling her, as if he was herding her, merely, keeping her in place. Another blur to his right recaptured his attention and the fight began again.

Lash was extending his arms straight for Jaden, aiming to take care of him first. Jaden whipped out of the way so fast, Warren wasn't sure he had even moved. wanting to be left out of the fight, the pyrokinetic ignited his arms, chucking a few fireballs in Lash's direction for good measure. Lash retaliated by bending his body away from the oncoming projectiles and returning the attack, albeit with his fist. Warren jumped away, colliding into Jaden in the process.

"Would you do something? It's not like Layla and I are fighting them because we feel like it. We're trying to help _you_," Warren growled, shoving the boy away. Jaden's blank gaze rested on Warren's face briefly, before returning to Lash.

"Focus, fight, finish," Jaden mumbled again. Warren looked at him curiously, having heard his words clearly this time.

"What does that even-?" But Warren's question was interrupted with a ringing sound. The buzzer. Time was up.

Warren and Layla both glanced fretfully over their shoulders at the citizen dangling precariously over the vat of acid. The rope was severed by some unseen device and the citizen plummeted to its death, hitting the acid with a splash. There was a hissing noise and the dummy disappeared in a cloud of vapor.

The heroes had lost.

For the first time _ever_ since Will and Warren's victory last year, the heroes had lost the game of Save the Citizen.

The timer bell did little to deter the villains, however, as Lash attacked Warren's turned back. Lash wrapped an arm around Warren's legs, causing him to collapse to his knees. Warren cursed and flipped over, tossing another fireball at Lash's oncoming arm. Lash yelped when the fireball grazed his arm but otherwise retained his attack. Unable to leap away, Warren raised an arm to protect his head, waiting for the inevitable.

But it never came.

Taking a daring glance upward, Warren realized Jaden had finally gone into action; he had a hold of Lash's arm and was holding it tightly against him. Lash wriggled and squirmed his appendage but it remained in Jaden's hold. Jaden stepped over the arm holding Warren, then slid underneath it, then stepped over it again, dragging Lash's other arm with him the whole way. Warren looked at him in confusion. What was he doing? Jaden kept walking around with it, even circling the vat of acid twice. Lash still tugged relentlessly at it though, forgetting Warren on the ground completely. Speed kept on running, holding Layla in her human cage. Every now and then her vines would tentatively reach towards the blurring wall that contained her, only to be hacked away by Speed's body when they reached too far.

Returning to his spot next to Warren, Jaden released the stretched arm he held. Warren watched as the black and white striped sleeve whipped around the 'arena', speeding through the air, as it entangled itself from everywhere Jaden had tugged and tied it.

It was retracting too fast, Warren realized. The appendage could only be stretched so far without having some kind of rebound effect and this was it. Lash gaped as his own arm came flying back to him, gaining speed. It smacked him in the face as it returned to his side. The force of the blow knocked Lash back a few steps, his other arm releasing Warren to put a hand up to his face. The retracting limb had smashed against his broken nose, causing a wave of pain to blossom across his face.

Blood trickled through Lash's fingers.

And the current look he was giving Jaden was murder.

"You broke my nose _again_," he snarled.

Jaden shrugged. "I never broke it the _first _time. And I would have looked at if I were you," the boy replied, a smug look on his face. The smirk did not reach his eyes.

"I am going to _KILL _you," Lash roared, hurtling himself at the boy, bloody hands raised. He really did look murderous. Warren got up, shoving Jaden aside, his owns hands bursting into flame. Jaden saw the fire, his gaze flickering to the sudden light and heat. But it did not appear to affect him in anyway.

As Lash neared the two, a flash of light called their attention skyward, to the ceiling. A large glowing sphere hovered there.

Jaden blinked, the glazed look momentarily faltering.

"Hey," he said, squinting at the luminous ball, "That kind of looks like Principal Powers…"

And a large boom filled the gymnasium. It was like a sonic blast, unsteadying, and knocking all of the students to their knees. Even a startled Boomer fell backwards off his high chair.

Jaden and Warren were flattened by the knockback blast, ending up on their backs. Jaden coughed at the impact, the air going out of his lungs in a rush.

"This will cease, at once," commanded a familiar disembodied voice. The shining sphere descended into the middle of the enclosure, reshaping itself into a humanoid shape. The five that had been floored within the plexi glass walls sat upright, staring in horror at the woman now standing before them.

"It _was_ Powers," mumbled Jaden, rubbing the back of his aching head. The glassy eyed look was gone now but a shooting pain in Jaden's side replaced it. He winced and tried to keep his attention on Principal Powers.

"Now, I don't know why or what caused you five to act in this manner but it will not go any longer. I don't know why it was allowed to continue either," she hissed, shooting the evil eye at Boomer. Jaden was pretty sure the man flinched. "And I would also like to add that all five of you will serve lunch detention tomorrow. Warren, Lash, and Speed groaned. Layla merely stuttered in disbelief. Jaden shrugged, he had lunch detention tomorrow anyway. What was another day?

"Mr. Binder, you have an extra lunch detention, for starting this mess," she finished, her gaze settling on the elastic boy, crusty bloody nose and all.

"M-me? It was them-"

"," Powers interrupted, "Did you or did you not throw the first punch? Think very carefully before your answer."

Lash's mouth flattened into a straight line. He wiped his upper lip, blood streaking his sleeve. He failed to answer.

"That's what I thought," Powers murmured, turning to glare at Coach Boomer. "Next time, I do hope you might consider your job a good enough reason to stop an unauthorized battle." And with that being said, the stately woman stomped away, albeit with an elegant air about her.

"I didn't know she could throw a knockback attack," mused Jaden.

"I always wondered what was so powerful about turning into a ball of light," grumbled Warren. He thought he saw Jaden's mouth quirk up at the corners ever so slightly. Will emerged from behind the doors that had Principal Powers had previously disappeared through.

"Will!" Layla called, grinning. Will returned the smile and raced towards her.

"Sorry, I left you to fend for yourself. I thought Powers might be more help than myself at the moment," Will apologized, his eyes frowning at the girl.

"It's alright, Will. She came just in time, I think."

"Actually, I thought we were doing pretty well on our own," mumbled Jaden, watching the couple with a bored look.

"You did?" Layla asked, squinting at the raven-haired boy suspiciously.

"Yeah."

"We? Together? We did well _together? _Like collectively?"

"Yeeeah….?"

"Like a team?"

"Well, sure if you wanna name it-"

"So we're a good team, then?"

Jaden's eyes widened, finally seeing what the girl was getting at.

"Oh no. NO. We are not a good team. Not at _all._ We're horrible together. We sucked big time. BIG TIME," Jaden said, shaking his head.

"No, we didn't. You said so yourself we were a good team."

"No, I didn't. You did."

"You implied it."

"You're putting words in my mouth."

"And you're just being difficult. Admit it, we worked pretty well together."

"Nope."

"That's okay. You already did earlier anyway."

Jaden sighed, dropping his chin to his chest.

"You people are aggravating," he grumbled.

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o

You know the drill; tell we what you like, what you don't like, what you think needs improving, and if anything was unclear to you, just ask.

**Notes:**

1.) Binder is my made up last name for Lash, since it was never mentioned in the movie. Or was it? I don't know. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

**Review responses;**

For all those that sent in a review, thank you very much! I didn't reply to all of them, just ones with questions and ones with comments I wanted to address.

**Sofiya96:** Lash IS an ass. But I'm just making him one for now so that he can help move the plot along. A necessary sacrifice. :(

**Coloringbooks:** Porcupines are GREAT heroes. :D And you can most certainly have another ninja button.

**Ski October (aka Anna):** Yes, I enjoy making Warren question his sexual orientation. xD Thank you. :)

**.cake:** WOW, thanks. I'm glad it makes you laugh so much. I'm not really fond of really angsty fics and I wanted to make something that was comedic but had a real story to it too. I wasn't sure if other people would laugh at things I would laugh at, so I'm glad my sense of humor isn't turning out to be ridiculous to readers. xD

**QueenThayet12990:** I think you're the third person to comment on the 'This is a break think this is a break" thing. I was thinking about updating that chapter with my x and o line breaks instead but since it's somehow functioning as, like, some kind of literary device, I think I'll keep my fluke. xD I would also like to thank for all that critiquing, really. My sentence structure IS really choppy. I type how I think, in short little bursts. I've been trying to work on improving the flow, throwing in commas instead of periods like you said. Tell me what you think and if there might be any other areas that need work. I know I'm the not best grammatically correct writer. xD In fact, I'm not sure that last sentence is grammatically correct. Hm. Sounds weird when I say it aloud…anyway! Thank you. :D

**sulfur angel:** You're line break information is not coming too late! I didn't know there was a tool on the site to insert them. Much thanks. I'll test it out next chapter and see how I like it. Your comment, 'Would such a cape billow out while the bus is in motion? Ponder this.' made me laugh so hard. I did ponder and I do believe the cape would billow, even if it was a human-sized one. As for the stripes in the hair relation to Death the Kid, I had never heard of Soul Eater before you mentioning it so yes, it is quite a freak coincidence. I'm glad that you agree with me on ninjas being a good form of entertainment. As for Jaden's power, very sucky indeed, no pun intended. Yes, Jack's body was gone when the Four woke up, which leads us to two things; he wasn't dead, or someone took his body. You'll find out someday. :)

**anonymous reviewer who commented on the banana pudding incident:** Yes, banana pudding was their code talk for "We're getting out of here, dude!" I probably could have come up with more intelligent code but I'm too lazy. Plus, I wanted a chance to make the villains look silly, since they will soon be evil maniacs. Still, I probably should have made it a little more clear, sorry about that!

**xxNewMoon29xx:** I know I haven't updated in forever but I do hope this might help to escape Cuddles and face attacking cat? D:

**FlyingSolo365:** I don't know if you were referring to when I mentioned my other story being on hiatus or not but I have no intention of placing this one on hiatus anytime soon (Even though my pattern of publishing chapters is pretty much off and on hiatus). My other story has all this research behind it and everything so it needs some extensive polishing. As for the Mary Sue-ish ness, I scored Borderline Mary Sue on the litmus test. I am now in the process of trying to negate this in upcoming chapters. I have many plans for the characters of Sky High, oh yes. Thank you for your prayers, my fellow Pastafarian. :D I understand the pressures of school and what not so don't worry too much about the beta thing. But when you read, and perhaps you see something amiss, don't hesitate to point it out. If you could just even do that, it'd be greatly appreciated. :)

**Biisaiyowaq:** I'm glad you liked my one shot. I was just watching my cats and dog that day and was just, like, hm. What if….this and this and this and this happened? I have random bursts of writing energy. I wish they were more constant.

**Talis Ruadair:** Thank you, the story will go on, with or without a beta. And don't you just hate the never ending intertwining plots? It's frustrating, it really is. I'm glad I'm not the only one that has those kinds of problems; I thought it was because I crazy or something. I don't know. Anyway, thank you for considering to beta.

**Anon:** Lol, yes, I do know mundane is a real word. I was really referring to Cassandra Clare's term 'mundie', used when her characters were describing normal humans. If you've never read her Mortal Instruments trilogy, it's about a group of nephilim, named the Shadowhunters, who hunt demons and have the 'Sight', or the power to see the magical world. Normal humans, who aren't magically inclined in any way were called mundanes but the main characters usually dubbed them 'mundies'. I liked the term and had never heard of it used anywhere else before, so to be safe I threw in a disclaimer for it anyway. I threw in the disclaimer for 'mundane' as well since she used it as a noun, not an adjective and I didn't want to get reviews saying 'You stole that from CC blah blah blah'. So I gave it to who used it first. I hope that makes sense? Anyway. Yeah.

Thank you **sofiya96, mandya1313, Raine44354, KenkonNoMegami, saleya, HeeroXDuo, own-girl-own-world, Jumeirah, coloring books, Kohanita, rivierlina, ShadowHex, Kelly, suney, EvanescentDream93, Apple 18, xXxDragonPhoenixXx, FlyingSolo365, HappyDonkeyCigarette, mistressofdarkness666, alex melisa, xXPsychoXx, Hells Twilight, CrazyAsian, aereall, AthLtcandHYPer, CatKicksButt, .cake, QueenThayet12990, Marchanna, sulfur angel, Lauren James, Silent Serendipity, Lady-Gummy-Bears, , Saint of the Sinners, sashafranklynn23, xxNewMoon29xx, Rauntail, Baby-Rosalita, Ski October, Buttercup85, ****Biisaiyowaq, Talis Ruadair, anon **for your reviews, alerts, favorites, or any combination of the 3.


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